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AURA-LV Trial - Voclosporin Effective in Lupus Nephritis
The AURA-LV trial assessed voclosporin, a calcineurin inhibitor in patients with active lupus nephritis (LN) and found that low-dose voclosporin may be successfully added to mycophenolate mofetil and corticosteroids to controll active LN.
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Chikungunya Virus Vaccine Developed
Lancet reports on a new vaccine for Chikungunya fever (MV-CHIK) demonstraing excellent safety, tolerability and good immunogenicity, independent of pre-existing immunity against the vector. MV-CHIK is a promising vaccine for the prevention of chikungunya fever.
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MMWR: Death by Firearms
The CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) reports that during 2015–2016 there was a total of 27,394 firearm homicides and 44,955 firearm suicides among US residents, with 12% and 5% of events occuring in children 10–19 years.
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CIRT Trial - Methotrexate Fails at Cardiovascular Prevention
Methotrexate has been shown to reduce cardiovascular (CV) deaths in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Given that inflammation underlies the pathogenesis of atherothrombosis, Dr. Paul Ridker and colleagues studied the value of low dose methotrexate (MTX) in preventing cardiovascular events.
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RheumNow Weekly Podcast – 3 Wiseguy Rheumatologists (11.9.18)
Dr Jack Cush reviews the News and Journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com. Be sure to check out our upcoming meeting in March 2019 - RheumNow Live.
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Intensive Patient Education Does Not Improve Low Back Pain Care
JAMA reports on a randomized clinical trial of 202 adults with acute low back pain showing the addition of intensive patient education failed to improve pain outcomes.
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E/M Guidelines: Right Road, Wrong Direction
Last July, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed new E/M guidelines for office visits with physicians. It issued the final guidelines on November 1, with a few tweaks.
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Musculoskeletal Events with Statin Use
Analysis of the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System data examined the association between statins' musculoskeletal adverse events (MAEs).
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IgG4-Related Disease: First Draft Criteria Presented at ACR 2018
As Dr. John Stone, MD, MPH recounted in his presentation regarding the new ACR/EULAR Classification Criteria for IgG4-Related Disease (IgG4-RD), only 15 years prior, IgG4-related disease was an unknown entity in the medical community.
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Controversial New Super Opioid Approved by FDA
Amidst a new DEA report demonstrating a record number of opioid overdose deaths (n-72,000 or ~ 200 deaths per day), the FDA has approved a newer and far more potent opioid than those that are currently being abused at alarming rates. The new agent is named Dsuvia.
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Late Breaker: Can Tanezumab Be Revived for OA?
The monoclonal antibody tanezumab, which blocks nerve growth factor, showed significant benefits in pain and function among patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee or hip, and rates of severe adverse joint events such as rapidly progressive OA that had plagued earlier studies were low, a re
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Ixekizumab COAST-V Trial Wins in Axial Spondyloarthritis
Lancet has published the results of a study showing that ixekizumab (an IL-17A inhibitor) yielded significant clinical benefit and radiographic protection when given to NSAID treated patients with radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA).
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Doubling Down on IL-17 In Psoriatic Arthritis
The monoclonal antibody bimekizumab, which neutralizes both interleukin (IL)-17A and 17F, was effective for both musculoskeletal and skin outcomes in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in a phase IIb study.
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Spotlight on Interstitial Lung Disease at ACR 2018
Here are a few important advances in our understanding of interstitial lung disease (ILD) from the ACR 2018 meeting last week.
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Treat-to-Target Strategy Cuts Mortality in Gout Patients
More intense treatment of gout with a treat-to-target strategy can reduce patients' risk for death, a Spanish researcher told a press conference Monday at the American College of Rheumatology annual meeting here.
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RheumNow ACR Week in Review: ACR Wrap-Up (10.26.18)
This past week in Chicago gave us a plethora of new and eye-opening research, people, KOLs, exhibits, sessions, guidelines, posters and a never-ending supply of coffee served in small paper cups. ACR 2018 highlights for me included:
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NSAIDs OK for Certain High-Risk Groups?
Some patients typically contraindicated for prescription nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use may be able to take them with no increased risk of harm, according to a large observational study.
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Allopurinol Shown to be Renal Protective
Neogi and colleagues have shown that standard doses of allopurinol (300 mg/day) were associated with a 13% lower risk of renal function deterioration in chronic gout patients - thus, allopurinol does not appear to impair renal function over time.
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Anxiety and Depression are Common in Arthritis Patients
The high prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression among adults with arthritis warrants awareness, screening, and subsequent treatment of these conditions.
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RheumNow Week in Review – Vitamin D Falls Again (10.4.18)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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