Novel Gel Drug Delivery Developed for Rheumatoid Arthritis

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Scientists at the Institute for Basic Science have invented a hydrogel capable of delivering drug at sites of inflammation in disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Arthritis Burden over $303 Billion Annually in U.S.

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Arthritis of all types in the U.S. carried an economic burden of $303.5 billion in 2013, nearly 1% of the gross domestic product that year, according to a CDC analysis.

BSR Guidelines on Lupus Management

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In the UK, NICE has accredited the British Society of Rheumatology (BSR) to develop a guidance document on the management of systemic lupus erythematosus in adults.  The last published guidelines for lupus were published in 2008 by EULAR and in 2012 by the ACR.

Zilretta - a New Drug FDA Approved for Osteoarthritis of the Knee

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Flexion Therapeutics announced friday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee injectable steroid drug Zilretta with the indication of moderate-to-severe knee pain.

2016 EULAR Guidelines on RA Management

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The management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has evolved significantly with time.  Nevertheless, there are still some uncertainties - such as when, what and which biologic or novel therapy should be used.

The RheumNow Week in Review - 6 October 2017

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The RheumNow Week in Review discusses the past week's news, journal articles and highlights from RheumNow.com. In this week's report, Dr. Jack Cush discusses when to hold the biologic, lymphoma risk with tofacitinib, early clues to the diagnosis of RA, biologic use in pregnancy, what's killing psoriasis patients and the 2016 top 5, best selling drugs in rheumatology.

Patterns of Biologic Use During Autoimmune Pregnancy

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While it is highly desirable to avoid medications during conception and pregnancy, statistics show that >90% of women take at least one drug during pregnancy and nearly half will take 3 or more medications during pregnancy.

IBD Associated with Increased risk of Autoimmune and Inflammatory Diseases

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A registry based study has shown higher rates of immune mediated diseases (IMD) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Alcohol Related Deaths Increased in Psoriasis

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JAMA Dermatology has published a report showing psoriasis carries a 60% greater risk alcohol-related death compared with those without psoriasis. (Citation source: https://buff.ly/2galDwr)

Primary Sjögren's Syndrome Guideline from the British Society for Rheumatology

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The British Society of Rheumatology (BSR) has been accredited by NICE to develop a guidance document for the management of primary Sjögren's Syndrome intended for rheumatologists, general physicians, general practitioners, specialist nurses and other specialists (e.g.

Amgen-Abbvie Settle Humira Biosimilar Patent Dispute

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Amgen's biosimilar version of adalimumab (Humira) was FDA-approved in September 2016 and given the trade name Amjevita (generic: adalimumab-atto). This new TNF inhibitor biosimilar has not yet been to market because of legal wranglings over patent issues by Abbvie's Humira.

29 September 2017 The RheumNow Week in Review

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The RheumNow Week in Review discusses the past week's news, journal articles and highlights from RheumNow.com. This week's report discusses regulatory actions by NICE and FDA, higher death rates in RA and psoriasis, increased risk of RA with Asthma, rising numbers for OA, RA, and STDs.

Psoriasis Increases Risk of Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events

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A report in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology shows that psoriasis duration and inflammation may result in cardiovascular inflammation and an increased risk of major adverse CV events.

Safety of Long-Term PPI Use

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The current issue of JAMA reviews the safety of long-term use of proton pump inhibitors (PPI). The following is a collection of the evidence about these purported risks.

Fractures

Increased Deaths in RA, Despite Decreasing Mortality Rates

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Data from the Swedish Rheumatology Quality (SRQ) Register studied death rates in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) between 1997 and 2014.  Holmqvist and colleagues studied 17,512 RA and 78,847 matched controls from the general population, until their death.

UAB Researchers Shed Light on Age-Related Osteoporosis

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Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have detailed mechanisms leading to age-related bone loss and osteoporosis.

No Cancer Risk With Biologic Use

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A polulation-based study from Sweden has shown that treatment with tocilizumab, abatacept, rituximab, or tumor necrosis factor (TNFi) inhibitors does not affect the risk of malignant neoplasms among patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Specifically, use of a first or second TNFi or biologic DMARDs (bDMARD) does confer a different cancer risk when compared to conventional DMARDS in biologic–naive RA patients.

FDA Panel Backs New Zoster Subunit Vaccine

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GlaxoSmithKline has announced that the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted unanimously in support of the efficacy, safety and approval of its herpes zoster subunit (HZ/su) vaccine (called Shingrix) for the prevention of herpes zoster (shingles) in adults ages 50 and over.

Sirukumab Turned Down by FDA

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On Friday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that will not approve Johnson & Johnson’s rheumatoid arthritis drug sirukumab, stating further data and study would be needed to establish its safety. 

Isolated SS-B Not Associated with Connective Tissue Disease

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A one-year prospective study of 624 patients undergoing autoantibody testing for anti-SS-A and/or anti-SS-B autoantibodies finds that isolated anti-SS-B autoantibodies was not associated with features or the diagnosis of any specific connective tissue diseases (CTD).