Building a Better Rheumatologist (Best of 2015)

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There’s a certain comfort to work that is rote, mechanistic and almost automatic.

Alcohol and Methotrexate - What Do You Advise? (Best of 2015: #9)

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What are your rules on methotrexate and alcohol use? How about casual, social or occasional alcohol use? If one alcoholic beverage is ok, what about 2, 3 or six while taking MTX?

Preventing Hepatitis B Reactivation Due to Immunosuppressive Drug Treatments (Best of 2015)

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Reactivation of hepatitis B virus infection can have devastating consequences, especially amongst those patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy.

Chikungunya Spread Continues (Best of 2015)

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The spread of the viral infection Chikungunya continues with the CDC issuing a travel advisory for those traveling to Mexico, where over 7000 cases of the viral infection have been reported.

DAS28-CRP or DAS28-ESR: Are they Biosimilar? (Best of 2015)

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The disease activity score (DAS28) has been developed as a dynamic assessment tool and a therapeutic response measure for use in clinical trials and practice.

Should Lupus Patients Receive Influenza and Pneumococcal Vaccines? (Best of 2015)

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Barry Waters, MD*: I have a 21 yr old lupus nephritis patient on mycophenolate, hydroxychloroquine and prednisone 40 mg per day.

When to Taper Patients Off Opioids

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I am often asked the question: When is the right time to taper a patient off opioids?

My view is that a patient should be tapered any time the risks exceed the benefits, or when treatment goals are not being met.

Will the Balance of JAK inhibition Yield Better Outcomes? Results of New JAK inhibitor - Peficitinib

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Researchers from Keio University have published their results using novel JAK inhibitor peficitinib (ASP015K) as a monotherapy in moderate to severe RA patients. 

In Academic Leadership, Women Outnumbered by Men With Moustaches

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A study published in the BMJ Christmas issue shows only 13% of academic positions at US medical schools are held by women. Sadly, and strangely, even the uncommon subset, men with moustaches, outnumbered (20%) the women in academic leadership spots. 

Predicting and Preventing Rheumatoid Arthritis

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Rheumatologists and physicians are commonly asked, "what can I do to avoid rheumatoid arthritis?"  This is usually a concern for family members of those affected by RA.

Bariatric Surgery Improves Rheumatoid Arthritis Outcomes

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Obesity is a modest risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) onset. More importantly, obese patients have significanty lower treatment responses to DMARDs and biologics, making them harder to treat than your average RA patient.

Herpes Zoster Increases the Risk of Stroke and MI

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At the 2015 ACR annual meeting in San Francisco, Len Calabrese, DO, of the Cleveland Clinic, gave a plenary session talk linking "shingles" infection to an increased risk of CVA (

Can Gout and Rheumatoid Arthritis Coexist?

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German investigators studied 100 RA patients with a uric acid > 6 mg/dl and assessed them for MSU crystal deposit with dual energy computed tomography (DECT) of both feet and hands.

Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells Influences Early, But Not Established Lupus

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The Journal of Immunology has published the findings of Virginia Tech researchers who have studied plasmacytoid dendritic cells and their ability to induce type I alpha interferon (IFN-α) in lupus. (Citation source: http://buff.ly/1MceeCl)

CDC Reports Increases in Tularemia

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported a sharp rise in tularemia, especially in Colorado, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Nebraska.

Exercise Benefits Osteoarthritis Hip Pain

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(Reuters Health) - Water- or land-based exercise should provide some short-term benefit in pain management for hip osteoarthritis, though there are few well-designed trials testing it, according to a new review published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

RA Guidelines, Methotrexate and Mortal Risks in Gout: November 2015 top social media news

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Here's what you may have missed: in November 2015, RheumNow published 80 tweets on news, research and teaching points that impact the rheumatology community. We had a reach (impressions) of 79,100, 79 mentions, and over 3399 visits to RheumNow.com to check out what we publish.

Skin Cancer Risk in ANCA+ Vasculitis

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Previously, granulomatous polyangitis (GPA or Wegener's) was known to have an increase risk of cancer, especially bladder cancer, presumeably due to cyclophosphamide (CTX) exposure.

Two-Fold Increase of Demyelinating Diseases with TNF Inhibition

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Despite the potential contributory role of TNF in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis, several trials have shown that TNF inhibitor (TNFi) use may lead to worsening of MS, optic neuritis and other demyelinating disorders.