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Poor Prognosis of the MDA-5 Antibody in Dermatomyositis
Researchers from Hong Kong assessed the clinical associations seen with the anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 antibody (anti-MDA5 Ab) assay in consecutive patients with dermatomyositis (DM) and polymyositis (PM).
Read ArticleOpioid Use in Ankylosing Spondylitis
A prospective study has shown that ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients often require narcotic analgesics to manage pain unresponsive to antiinflammatory therapies.
Read ArticleInefficacy of Immunosuppressive Treatments in Systemic Sclerosis with ILD
EUSTAR study results published in Arthritis Research & Therapy show the current state of immunosuppressive use in systemic sclerosis patients with interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) to be ill-defined, but that liberal use of glucocorticoids (GC) in SSc-ILD should be discouraged
Read ArticleACR Urges Reforms by HHS
Dr. David Daikh, president of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) has written a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in response to their Request for Information on Promoting Health Care Choice and Competition Across the United States.
Read ArticleACIP Guidelines on H. Zoster Vaccination Updated
The ACIP has discussed and analyzed its VZV vaccination policy to ensure safety and reduce disease burden. This report serves as a supplement to the 2008 Prevention of Herpes Zoster Recommendations.
Read ArticleESRD Death Declines in Vasculitis Patients
In the past 2 decades, mortality from end-stage renal disease (ESRD) among U.S. patients with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) has declined significantly, a nationwide study found.
Read ArticleLess Cardiovascular Risk with Abatacept in Rheumatoid Arthritis
A claims data analysis shows that abatacept use in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients yielded a modestly reduced cardiovascular risk when compared to patients receiving TNF inhibitors (TNFi).
Read Article15% of Users Exceed Recommended OTC NSAID Dosing
New data shows that nearly 15 percent of adult ibuprofen users exceed the maximum recommended dose of ibuprofen or other NSAIDs in a one-week period.
Read ArticleHigher Fracture Risk with PMR and GCA
Corticosteroid therapy is integral to the treatment of polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) and giant cell arteritis (GCA) and a new retrospective cohort study from the UK shows that PMR and GCA have similar, increased risk of fractures.
Read ArticleThe RheumNow Week in Review - 26 January 2018
The RheumNow Week in Review discusses the past week's news, journal articles and highlights from RheumNow.com. This week's report covers the price of biologics treatment in psoriasis, comorbidities in myositis, bronchiectasis with MPO antibodies, and the risk of secondary TNF failure with anti-drug antibodies.
Read ArticleObesity Outweighs Psoriasis in Comorbidity Risk with Children
Like their adult counterparts, psoriasis in children is an independent risk factor for comorbidity, but not as much as obesity.
Read ArticleAnti-Drug Antibodies Partly Explain Secondary TNF Inhibitor Failures
An observational study of patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or spondyloarthritis (SpA) experiencing secondary failure to TNF inhibitor (TNFi) therapy showed that (secondary) loss of efficacy to a TNFi was associated with anti-drug antibodies in less than 30% of patients.
Read ArticlePRESERVE Study: HAQ, BMI and Age Predict Responses to Combo Therapy
Rheumatoid arthritis patients who were younger and who had lower body mass index, Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) scores, and less disease activity at baseline were most likely to achieve remission after combination etanercept (Enbrel) and methotrexate induction therapy, a post hoc analysis of the PRESERVE trial found.
Read ArticleTeriparatide Superior to Risedronate in the VERO Trial
Lancet reports that in a study teriparatide with risedronate, post-menopausal women with severe osteoporosis had significantly fewer new vertebral and clinical fractures on teriparatide comared to those receiving risedronate.
Read ArticleCimzia Limits Xray Progression in Axial Spondyloarthritis
The RAPID-axSpA study of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) patients showed that certolizumab pegol (CZP) treatment yielded rapid clinical improvement with limited radiographic progression and MRI inflammation at the sacroiliiac (SI) joint over 4 years.
Read ArticleApremilast’s Rapid Onset in Psoriatic Arthritis
Monotherapy with apremilast (Otezla) among patients with psoriatic arthritis who were biologic-naive was significantly more effective than placebo as early as week 2 in a phase IIIb study.
Read ArticleProblems with Biologic Drug Storage
Is your patient’s refrigerator the problem with the inefficacy of biologic therapies? Studies show most patients don't store their biologics correctly, which may be a source of limited drug efficacy.
Read ArticleWeight Loss Linked to RA Improvement
By retrospectively reviewing electronic health record (EHR) data, Kreps et al found that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who lost >5 kg of weight were three times more likely to demonstrate improvement in disease activity.
Read ArticleThe RheumNow Week in Review - 19 January 2018
The RheumNow Week in Review discusses the past week's news, journal articles and highlights from RheumNow.com. This week's report covers the rising cost of adalimumab, infections in myositis, phyisician burnout, biologics in Still's disease and weight loss benefits in RA.
Read ArticleTwo Types of Osteoarthritis Based on Cartilage Studies
A report from Annals of Rheumatic Diseases suggests that osteoarthritis (OA) may be two distinct diseases based on genetic studies of articular cartilage. (Citation source: https://buff.ly/2mNtUsL).
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