Favorable Certolizumab Safety Profile in Pregnancy

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Clowse and colleagues have published an extensive review of the certolizumab pegol (CZP) in pregnancy database, and found no evidence that CZP has a teratogenic effect or contributes to fetal harm when compared to the general population. 

Uveitis in JIA: Screen All, Treat Early

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A European group of experts has formulated consensus-based recommendations for the treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)-associated uveitis, focusing on screening, monitoring, and treatment of this potentially devastating extra-articular manifestation of JIA.

RheumNow Week in Review -The Temporal Artery Biopsy Letdown (4.6.2018)

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com. News on the cost of RA care, infections on planes, CV events and Sacroiliitis in IBD, NXP-2 antibodies and calcinosis and rituximab in myositis ILD patients.

IL-6 Inhibition Most Effective in Polycyclic Systemic JIA

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The German Autoinflammatory Disease (AID) registry has studied the effects of the IL-6 inhibitor tocilizumab (TCZ) in systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) patients and shown a clinical response rate of 35% during the first 12 weeks, and inactive disease and/or remission (with medication)

Rituximab May Halt ILD in Antisynthetase Syndrome Myositis

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A multicenter study assessed patients with the antisynthetase syndrome (AS) and interstitial lung disease (ILD) and found that rituximab (RTX) therapy was associated with either improved or stable pulmonary outcomes in most. 

Lancet Tackles the Global Challenge of Low Back Pain

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Lancet has several reports on low back pain (LBP) as a major problem worldwide, largely because of the aging population.

Low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide.

Cannabis Laws Lessen the Opioid Crisis

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Three reports from JAMA Internal Medicine demonstrate favorable trends with less opioid use when cannabis became legal.

Unmet Needs in Calcium Pyrophosphate Deposition Disease

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Abhishek et al have written on the results of an international survey of crystal arthritis experts and identified the unmet needs  regarding calcium pyrophosphate crystal deposition (CPPD) - research, classification, diagnosis and management.

Obesity Surgery Tames Knee OA Pain

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Laparoscopic gastric band (LAGB) surgery was associated with significant decreases in knee pain from osteoarthritis (OA), with the greatest improvements seen among those whose body mass index (BMI) had the greatest decreases and among younger patients, researchers reported.

The RheumNow Week in Review -30 March 2018

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com. News on drug regulatory decisions, fenofibrate and gout, Still's disease, TB and infection rates, SpA and hidradenitis suppurativa, and predicting methotrexate non-responders.

NHANES: Trends in Calcium Supplements

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The journal Bone reports that given excess calcium intake may not be entirely free from unintended health consequences, it's important to undestand trends in calcium supplement use. 

Precision Genetics Can Predict Methotrexate Non-Responders

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Investigators from Glasgow and Oxford have identified changes in genomic architecture, represented by a chromosome conformation signature, that can predict nonresponse to methotrexate in early rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Recognizing that studies show 35–59% of RA patients do not achieve clinically meaningful responses after starting MTX, they sought to identify a pattern of genetic changes in 59 early RA patients that would predict poor responses to MTX therapy.

2 Weeks Off Methotrexate OK for Flu Vaccine

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Stopping methotrexate for 2 weeks after the administration of flu vaccine led to improved immunogenicity without increasing disease activity among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a prospective Korean study showed.

FIELD Study: Fenofibrate Reduces Uric Acid and Gout Risk

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Lancet reports the results of the FIELD (Fenofibrate Intervention and Event Lowering in Diabetes) study - where fenofibrate was shown to reduce uric acid by 20%, gout events by nearly 50% and may be useful in preventing gout in diabetes. 

Medicare Drug Prices Jump Ten Times the Inflation Rate

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CNN reports that a new congressional analysis of Medicare drug pricing shows the prices of the 20 most commonly prescribed brand-name drugs have risen nearly 10 times the annual rate of inflation in the past five years.

Anakinra May Attenuate Stroke Outcomes

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The journal Stroke has published a trial wherein the use of subcutaneous IL-1Ra (anakinra) was shown to reduce the peripheral inflammatory response in those with an acute ischemic stroke.

Chronic Knee Pain Linked to Depression

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Chronic pain and depression are intimately linked, but Japanese researchers have found that up to 12% of knee osteoarthritis (OA) may develop depression and that such patients should be screened for depression over time.

The Consequences and Cure of Hepatitis C

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I spent this past week seeing hepatitis C patients with our hepatologists, and being a rheumatologist, I was looking forward to seeing extra-hepatic manifestations of HCV that we read about in text-books - cryoglobulinemic vasculitis, sicca syndrome, porphyria cutanea tarda and many others. I suppose I should not be surprised that the week passed without seeing a single one of these. 

The RheumNow Week in Review - 23 March 2018

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the highlights from the news, journals and major meetings. New announcements and approval from the FDA; novel associations between ANCA vasculitis and thyroid disease; flare rates after arthroplasty; and pregnancy outcomes for men and women.

Tai Chi Eases Fibromyalgia Pain

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The mind-body practice of tai chi was as effective or better than currently recommended aerobic exercise for fibromyalgia, a randomized controlled trial demonstrated.