Reuters reports that the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar had declared his agency has the authority to eliminate rebates on prescription drug purchases, a key element in the administration’s plan to lower prescription medicine costs.

Comorbidity is pervasive and complicates medical care in general. It can be a by-product of aging. It may result from drug therapy or an inciting disease process and may be part of the constellation that defines the primary disorder. A growing body of evidence that suggests that comorbidity has a significant dampening effect on drug responsiveness and, adds to poorer outcomes in patients with inflammatory arthritis.

There is a large body of data that shows tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) use in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) confers the same risk as that seen in RA - meaning there is no increase over and above that incurred by inflammation and RA itself.  There are fewer studies about whether it is s

Among elderly female Medicare patients, persistent use of osteoporosis medications was associated with reduced risk of fracture and significantly lower total health care costs.

The Annual U.S. News and World Report Rankings of Hospitals has listed the top contenders in the field of rheumatology. The U.S. News Review rates hospitals nationwide in 16 specialties – including rheumatology. Of the 4,500 hospitals covered by U.S.

An Australian prospective study of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) has shown that sustained use of tumour necrosis factor (TNFi) inhibitors or biologics can reduce the risks of cardiovascular events (CVEs).

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and latest journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com. Info on Surgery and Hip Fractures, Gout drugs abandoned, Allopurinol escalation, hydroxychloroquine drug levels, how to treat scleroderma in India and exactly who gets back pain.

This nationwide study of adults (50+ yrs) from Denmark has shown that following a fragility fracture, the 10-years mortality risk was increased, especially in the first year following the fracture. 

Saag and colleagues report the results of a 3 month phase III trial demonstrating equal efficacy between febuxostat extended release (XR) and immediate release (IR) formulations in patients with gout.  and normal or impaired renal function.

New developments with the FDA and new scientific findings are adding momentum to two drugs experts believe are game-changers in osteoporosis treatment.

Interleukin-1 (IL-1) suppression helped reverse symptoms of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) for one patient in a case study that may implicate inflammation in the development of the condition.

Cannabis therapy is legal in 30 states in the US, and soon to be legal in Canada and Great Britian, but the US Veterans Administration continues to reject medical marijuana as a therapeutic option - even in states where it is approved.

The Annals of Rheumatic Disease have published the recently developed Latin American clinical practice guidelines for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) addressing the best pharmacologic interventions for musculoskeletal, mucocutaneous, kidney, cardiac, pulmonary, neuropsychiatric, hemat

The majority of patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who achieved a state of minimal disease activity (MDA) after 6 months of treatment with adalimumab (Humira) maintained that response through 24 months, a large observational study found.

A consensus panel was convened to develop consensus-based clinical and therapeutic recommendations for the use of methotrexate (MTX) in the management of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) patients.  

Dan Wallace and colleagues report in Lancet the results of a phase II study of the selective baricitinib, an oral selective Janus kinase (JAK1 and JAK2) inhibitor, in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, demonstrating the efficacy and safety of JAK1/2 inhibition with baricitinib as a new potential oral therapy for SLE.

Based on clinical trial data, patients starting tumour necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors (TNFi) have roughly a two-thirds chance of achieiving a good clinical response. French investigators have studied a series of potential biomarkers and surmised that the combination of baseline prealbumin, platelet factor 4 and S100A12 can predict a 78% response to TNFi in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

Ambien (zolpidem) is the most widely used prescription hypnotic sedative since its introduction in 1992 and is currently the fourth most frequently prescribed psychiatric drug (2013). Recent US Food and Drug Administration Drug Safety Communications suggest limitations on use to reduce adverse effects. A study of the Medical Expenditures Survey in 2015 revealed that over 3.8 million adults reported using one or more prescriptions for zolpidem.

New research from a UK study suggests that nonresponse to oral or subcutaneous MTX was seen in 43% and is predicted by seronegativity, higher disease activity measures and higher anxiety scores.

A Finnish Rheumatology Center followed 435 early, seronegative rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients for 10-years and found that only 3% became erosive or seropositive RA.