Best of 2017: Death Rates from Lupus Remain Disproportionately High

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The Annals of Internal Medicine reports that despite improving trends in mortality, death rates from systematic lupus erythematosus (lupus) remain high compared to those in the general population, and disparities persist between subpopulations and geographic regions. Underreporting of lupus on death certificates may have resulted in underestimates of mortality rates. 

Best of 2017: Are ANA Tests Unreliable?

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Pisetsky and colleagues have reported in the Annals of Rheumatic Disease that ANA tests done on established SLE patients may yield surprisingly disparate results.

While ANA negative lupus was a problem of old assays and the loss of ANA positivity may be seen with chronicity or age, most rheumatologists believe that ANA positivity is an absolute requirement for the diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Best of 2017: New EULAR Guidelines on Behçet's

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At the EULAR 2016 meeting, new EULAR recommendations for the management of Behçet's disease (BD) were presented.

The RheumNow Week in Review – Life Savers for Rheumatologists (6.29.18)

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews selected news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com.

Ixekizumab Effective in Ankylosing Spondylitis

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Eli Lilly announced today the results of the COAST-W trial showing that ixekizumab (Taltz) was effective in a Phase 3 study Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) patients who had an inadequate response or intolerance to tumor necrosis factor (TNFi) inhibitor therapy.

Does RA Have a Prodrome?

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A pattern of increased primary care visits and joint complaints during the 2 years before rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was diagnosed were predictive of the diagnosis, a British case-control study found.

NPF Dietary Recommendations for Psoriatic Disease

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The National Psoriasis Foundation has released dietary recommendations for adults with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, based on a systematic review of the current literature, with the strongest focus on weight reduction for those who are overweight or obese.

Five Barriers to Biosimilar Adoption in the US

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A recent Deloitte analysis of the biosimilar market in the USA suggests there are defined obstacles to biosimilar use that must be dealt with, especially as the current administration is seeking to lower drug prices and reduce out-of-pocket costs for US consumers.

Public Citizen Pressures FDA to Pull Febuxostat

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Public Citizen has petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to remove Takeda's drug febuxostat (Uloric) from the market, citing the FDA's own warnings and evidence of serious cardiovascular harms. This follows on a recent FDA safety warning and NEJM paper citing cardiovascular concerns over febuxostat.

Can DMARDs Delay Rheumatoid Onset?

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Preclinical rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a hot new area wherein at risk individuals (seropositive, first degree relatives of RA patients, etc.) are being studied to assess the triggers that lead to progression to RA or whether therapies can be used to avert the onset of RA.

Enthesitis in PsA: A New Focus of Treatment?

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Patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) whose disease manifestations include enthesitis showed significantly greater responses to interleukin (IL)-23 inhibition than to blocking tumor necrosis factor (TNF), suggesting the possibility that treatment decisions in the future might be guided by speci

Abatacept Misses in Lupus Nephritis

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Dr. Richard Furie, MD, of Northwell Health in New York, presented the findings ofa large phase III trial of abatacept (Orencia) in lupus nephritis showing the agent failed to achieve a complete renal response.

The RheumNow Week in Review – EULAR18 Epilogue (6.22.18)

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews EULAR 2018 and the past week's news and reports from RheumNow.com, including DMARDs in OA, the price of Penicillamine, Infections when ANCA+, CV outcomes in gout, NSAIDs in Pregnancy and Seropostive vs. Seronegative Outcomes.

Cosentyx Gets Radiographic Protection Indication for Psoriatic Arthritis

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Novartis announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the inclusion of new evidence that Cosentyx® (secukinumab) significantly slows the progression of joint structural damage at Week 24 versus placebo in those with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

NSAID Use Around Conception Increases Miscarriage Risk

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A study from the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology analyzed pregnant women from the Kaiser Permanente healthcare system and compared newly pregnant women who took non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or acetaminophen or neither showed that using NSAIDs around conception carried a more than four-fold higher risk of early miscarriage. (Citation source: http://bit.ly/2tqNWN6)

The Stress - Autoimmune Disease Connection

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"Can stresss be the cause of my autoimmune disease?" is an often launched question met with shrugs of uncertainty or strongly held beliefs rooted in bias moreso than fact.

Swedish investigators have analyzed a large registry cohort and shown that exposure to stress-related disorders yields a significantly increased risk of autoimmune disease. They analyzed 106,464 patients with stress-related disorders, with 126,652 full siblings, and over a million non-stressed matched controls to assess a future risk of autoimmune disease.

Seronegative and Seropositive Rheumatoids Respond Equally Well

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A cohort study of 241 DMARD-naive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, meeting either 1987 ACR or the 2010 ACR/EULAR  classification criteria for RA, compared the baseline status and long term outcomes of seronegative (SNRA) and seropositive (SPRA).

CDC Obesity Prevalence Higher in the Rural USA

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MMWR reports that approximately 46 million persons (14%) in the United States live in nonmetropolitan counties, where there is a higher prevalence of obesity-associated chronic diseases such as diabetes, coronary heart disease, and arthritis.

Weight Loss Lessens Knee Pain in Obese

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Obese knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients who lose > 20% of their weight were in significantly less pain, had better function and improved quality of life. 

EULAR 2018 - Day 4 Report

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The EULAR 2018 wound down on Saturday with fewer oral presentations but many posters.  In my last report I put together a collection of impressions and some thematic highlights not covered in previous reports.