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The RheumNow Week in Review – 2 June 2017
Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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Chondroitin Effective in Knee OA. Or is it?
Reginster and colleagues have reported on the results of the CONCEPT trial showing that osteoarthritis (OA) patients treated 800 mg/day of pharmaceutical-grade chondroitin sulfate (CS) have less VAS pain scores and improved function over 6 months therapy. These results were superior to placebo and equivalent to celecoxib in reducing in symptomatic OA knee pain.
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Ohio Sues Five Pharma Companies Over Opioid Epidemic
Ohio is suing five major drug manufacturers, accusing them of misrepresenting the risks of prescription opioid painkillers that has resulted in the current opioid epidemic.
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New BSR 2017 Gout Guidelines
The British Society for Rheumatology/British Health Professionals in Rheumatology first published a guideline for the management of gout in 2007. They have just updated and published their new guideline, largely because of new therapies, an increasing incidence of gout, low penetrance of urate lowering therapies, and the inability to achieve a target serum uric acid level.
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Both Undertreatment and Overtreatment Common in JIA
Kimme L. Hyrich, MD, PhD, of the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, and colleagues point out that because of the lack of consensus in diagnostic criteria, "the same child could be classified as 'in clinically inactive disease' or having active disease at the same time point between clinicians or hospitals."
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Golimumab Fails in Polyarticular Juvenile Arthritis
Treatment options for children with active polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (polyJIA) have lagged behind that seen with adult rheumatoid arthritis.
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Biologics Before Triple DMARD is Not Cost Effective in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Stepping up to biologic therapy when methotrexate (MTX) monotherapy fails was not shown to be cost effective, compared to first trying triple therapy, in a rheumatoid arthritis (RA) study published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
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High Fiber Intake May Decrease Osteoarthritis Knee Pain
Dai, Felson and colleagues report in Annals of Rheumatic Disease that high dietary fiber lowers the risk of symptomatic osteoathritis (SxOA), but the radiographic benefits remain unclear. (Citation source http://buff.ly/2rHv9yd)
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The RheumNow Week in Review - 26 May 2017
Dr. Jack Cush Reviews highlights from the past week on RheumNow.com:
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Low Dose Treatment in Ankylosing Spondylitis Still Effective
About one-third of ankylosing spondylitis patients who cut their etanercept (Enbrel) dose in half maintained responses over 4 years, compared with two-thirds who stayed on standard therapy, researchers reported.
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Ixekizumab Effective in TNF Failure Psoriatic Arthritis - SPIRIT-P2 Trial
Ixekizumab (Taltz) is currently approved for use in plaque psoriasis and is being developed for use in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). New results show IXE to be highly effective at skin and joint outcomes in PsA patients who have failed a TNF inhibitor (TNFi).
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NLRP3 Activation in Still's Disease
Adult-onset Still disease (AOSD) is usually regarded as an autoinflammatory disease, largely because of its symptomatology and responsiveness to IL-1 inhibition.
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Anti-IL-5 Success in Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis
The NEJM reports success when using mepolizumab (anti-IL-5 monoclonal antibody) in a 52 week study of patients with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA).
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Actemra - First FDA Approved Drug for Giant Cell Arteritis
The FDA has approved subcutaneous tocilizumab for use in Giant Cell Arteritis based on the phase III GiACTA study that demonstrated that TCZ with steroids was superior to steroid therapy alone.
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IL-6 Inhibitor Kevzara Granted FDA Approval for Rheumatoid Arthritis
The FDA has approved sarilumab (Kevzara), a new IL-6 inhibitor co-developed by Regeneron and Sanofi's, for use in adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
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Anti-Sclerostin Drug Hampered by Heart Problems
Reuters reports that FDA approval of romosozumab (brand name Evenity) may be held up because of higher rates of cardiac events seen in a late-stage clinical trial.
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The RheumNow Week in Review – 17 May 2017
Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights and updates from the past week on RheumNow.com:
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Non-Prescribed Opioid Abuse by Young Adults
Journal of Addiction Medicine reported that young adults often are "self-medicated" to manage pain.
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Inflammatory Arthritis Stable after Switch to Biosimilar Infliximab
The DANBIO registrys has demonstrated that switching from infliximab (Remicade) to biosimilar CT-P13 (Inflectra in the U.S., Remsima in Europe) does not appear to have any negative effect on inflammatory arthritis disease activity, Danish researchers reported.
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Educational Intervention Facilitates Treat-to-Target Management in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Treat-to-target education through group-based quality improvement sessions can result in wider use of treat-to-target in practice, according to researchers.
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