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Vedolizumab Implicated in Exacerbations of SpA in IBD Patients
Beloved by gastroenterologist for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), α4β7 integrin receptor vedolizumab (VDZ) has probably caught attention of many rheumatologist since the time it entered the market; largely for what it won't do for inflammatory arthritis.
Read ArticleRisk of Psoriasis Complicating TNF Inhibitor Therapy
A population-based study of claims data from Korea shows that among inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients receiving tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) there is a 3.7 per 100 patient-year risk of paradoxically developing psoriasis - a rate that is roughly 3-fold higher than risk in TNFi-naive IBD patients.
Read ArticleThe RheumNow Week in Review – Baricitinib Splash (6.7.18)
Dr. Jack Cush discusses the past week's news and journal articles featured on RheumNow.com - including reports on advance practice clinicians, baricitinib, gout, disease activity, hypomagnesemia and upadacitinib.
Read ArticleFDA Approves Low Dose Baricitinib for Rheumatoid Arthritis
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved baricitinib (Olumiant) for use in adults in moderate-to-severe active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have had an inadequate response to TNF inhibitors (TNFi). It is not approved for use, nor has it been studied, in children.
Read ArticleFDA Approves Baricitinib 2 mg for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved baricitinib (Oluminant) at the lower dose of 2 mg per day for use in adults with with moderate-to-severe active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have had an inadequate response to commonly-used treatments known as TNF inhibitors.
Read ArticleThe RheumNow Week in Review – Good News for GPA, CZP, Tofa but not ERA (6.1.18)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews this weeks reports from RheumNow.com, including the risk of autoimmunity with vaccination, early RA outcomes, new FDA approvals for certolizumab and tofacitinib and the risk of death from infection with biologics.
Read ArticleUstekinumab: A Novel Intervention in Giant Cell Arteritis
Treatment of refractory giant cell arteritis (GCA) with ustekinumab (Stelara) showed therapeutic promise as a steroid-sparing agent in a small, open-label study, Irish researchers reported.
Read ArticleHigh anti-TNF Failure Rates with Obesity
A meta-analysis has suggested that obesity is an under-reported predictor of inferior response to tumor necrosis factor blockade (anti-TNF) in a range of inflammatory immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs), with the results showing a 60% risk of impaired response to anti-TNF across several
Read ArticleCancer Risk Raised in Psoriatic Arthritis
Patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) were at increased risks for malignancy, and possibly more so if they were treated with conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), a meta-analysis found.
In nine cohort studies that included more than 43,000 PsA patients, the pooled relative risk for overall malignancy was 1.29 (95% CI 1.04-1.60) compared with the general population, according to Yunyun Fei, MD, and colleagues from Peking Union Medical College in Beijing.
Read ArticleTocilizumab Beats Anti-TNFs for Treatment Retention
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who had previously had an inadequate response to one biologic agent remained on tocilizumab (Actemra) longer than on a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor, whether or not conventional disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) were given concomitantl
Read ArticleTargeting IL-17A: A Winner in PsA
Psoriatic arthritis patients with inadequate response to tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors had improvements in their arthritis and psoriasis when treated with the interleukin (IL)-17A blocker ixekizumab (Taltz), according to a phase III study presented here at the
Read ArticleGenetic Breakthrough in Systemic JIA
The identification of a genetic susceptibility locus for systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) has important implications for treatment of this severe, poorly understood illness, researchers reported.
Read ArticleThe RheumNow Week in Review – FDA Showdown for Baricitinib (4.27.18)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and FDA proceedings from the past week on RheumNow.com.
Read ArticleFixed and Tailored Rituximab Regimens Equal in ANCA Associated Vasculitis
The French Vasculitis Study Group has published the results of the MAINRITSAN2 trial designed to compare individually tailored versus fixed-schedule rituximab (RTX) reinfusion for remission maintenance in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasm antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitides (AAVs).
Read ArticleFDA Arthritis Panel Split on the Efficacy and Safety of Baricitinib in RA
On Monday, April 23rd the FDA convened the Arthritis Advisory Committee (AAC) to evaluate Lilly’s resubmitted NDA for the approval of the JAK inhibitor baricitinib for use in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Read ArticleLupus Subgroup Responds to Anti-CD22
The monoclonal antibody epratuzumab showed promise as a B-cell depleting agent in patients with concomitant systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and Sjogren's syndrome, a post-hoc analysis of two phase III trials found.
Read ArticleFDA Review: Take Two for Baricitinib
FDA staff remain worried about the safety of baricitinib, an oral JAK inhibitor intended for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, according to briefing documents prepared for an advisory committee meeting on Monday.
Read ArticleKineret Approved for Still's Disease in EU
SOBI has announced that Kineret (anakinra) has been approved by the European Commission (EC) for the treatment of Still’s disease (Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis [SJIA] and Adult-Onset Still’s Disease [AOSD]), in all 28 European Union (EU) member states.
Read ArticleRheumNow Week in Review - Do you Dig Shingrix? (4.6.2018)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com. Highlights includes manpower shortfalls, comorbidities in AA Lupus, certolizumab pregnancy safety, which Shingles vaccine is best and the power of combination biologics in severe refractory SLE.
Read ArticleSynBioSe: Combo Rituximab and Belimumab Succeeds in Severe Refractory Lupus
One of the driving pathogenic mechanisms in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the generation of immune complexes capable of inducing netosis (NET formation) and NET-derived DNA that may be an amplifying autoantigen and give rise to anti-nuclear autoantibodies (ANAs).
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