Dr. Jack Cush discusses the news, journal articles and regulatory actions. This week we discuss JAKne, DLE and SLE and more.

UCB announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved bimekizumab-bkzx (Bimzelx)) for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adults who needing systemic therapy or phototherapy.

I'd like to discuss the similarities between polymyalgia rheumatica and palindromic rheumatism. And in doing that, highlight how these similarities help us understand the relationship between polymyalgia rheumatica and rheumatoid arthritis. Perhaps not everybody watching this will be very familiar with palindromic rheumatism. It is considered uncommon, but every rheumatologist sees it in their practice.

EULAR has published updated recommendations for the management of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) based on new evidence and expert opinion - formulationg five overarching principles and 13 recommendations.

Lancet reports the results of the METHODS study from Australia where hand osteoarthritis (HOA) patients benefitted from 6 months of methotrexate (MTX) - as long as there was MRI synovitis!

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news, journal reports and regulatory approvals from this past week on RheumNow.com.

On Oct. 6, 2023, Novartis announced the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an intravenous (IV) formulation of secukinumab (Cosentyx) for use in treating adults with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA).

In patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with infliximab (Remicade), increases in body mass index (BMI) scores over time were not associated with increased disease activity or faster radiographic progression.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the big PMR reports from this week along with other journal reports from RheumNow.com.

BE OPTIMAL trial tested the benefits of a dual IL-17 A/F inhibitor, bimekizumab (BKZ), in patients with active psoriatic arthritis and showed superior efficacy over placebo, that was sustained beyond the primary endpoint, from week 16 to 52. 

NEJM reported today that polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) patients who fail to respond to standard doses of prednisone therapy, were significantly better when given the IL-6 inhibitor sarilumab (than placebo).

Flare prophylaxis is the standard when initiating urate-lowering therapy (ULT) in patients with gout. A new study suggests that colchicine, more so than non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) prophylaxis, may increase the odds of adverse events, when initiating allopurinol for gout.

This week on the podcast, Dr. Jack Cush is joined by special guest, Dr. Kathryn Dao to review the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com. They discuss unmet needs in gout, obesity and CV disease in PsA and should you check ANCA antibodies in SLE?

In June 2023, RheumNow surveyed US and non-US rheumatologists (Rheums) about how they consider and manage pre-clinical rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in their practice. 

What’s your next best approach to the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patient who has failed several DMARDs and biologics?  In such cases you have to either reconsider the diagnosis (especially if seronegative) or reach into your bag of tricks.