Inconsistent ESR & CRP in Spondylitis Patients

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Patients with active axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) can lack evidence of inflammation on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) but may develop evidence of inflammation over time.

Anti-IL-23 Therapy Effective in Crohn's Disease

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Lancet has reported the results of risankizumab, an interleukin-23 (IL-23) inhibitor, in Crohn's disease. Risankizumab is a humanised monoclonal antibody targeting the p19 subunit of interleukin-23, and is being developed for Crohn's disease.

The RheumNow Week in Review – 14 April 2017

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the past week's news, articles and advances from RheumNow.com.

TNF Inhibitor Induced Psoriasis

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Tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors (TNFi) rarely have been reported to induce new-onset psoriasis.

Alcohol Use During Methotrexate Studied

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A recent RheumNow survey of 495 rheumatologists found that half of rheumatologists allow 1-3 alcoholic drinks per week and 6-7% has no alcohol restrictions while being treated with methotrexate (MTX).

Biologics Do Not Increase Melanoma Risk

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Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients have a higher risk of certain cancers (e.g., skin, lung, lymphoma).  At issue is whether the newer agents modify this risk appreciably.

Steroids, DMARDs and Biologics have Same Low Risk of Infection During Pregnancy

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Low rates of serious infections were observed in pregnant women receiving immunosuppressive therapies. Higher rates may be seen with steroid use in pregnancy and SIE trend towards lowest with DMARD or TNFi use. 

The RheumNow Week in Review – 24 March 2017

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews news and highlights from the past week on RheumNow.com.  

NEJM Reviews Psoriatic Arthritis

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A comprehensive review of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) was published this week in the NEJM, authored by leaders in the field, Drs. Ritchlin, Colbert and Gladman.

High points from their review inlcuded:

Gadolinium Accumulation with Repeated MRI

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Clinical Rheumatology reports that the repeated intravenous administration of gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs), although clinically useful, may be associated with rare toxicity and the uncertain clinical effects of accumulation. 

Cause of Death in Ankylosing Spondylitis

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A French population based study of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) was report in the Journal of Rheumatology.

They analyzed the death certificates and cause of death in 2940 AS patients over 3 different decades (1969-78; 1979-99; 2000-2009).

Checkpoint Inhibitors Causing Rheumatic Disease

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Calabrese and Velcheti have reviewed the current understanding that underlies a new drug-induced rheumatic disease - checkpoint inhibitor arthritis and autoimmune disease.

The RheumNow Week in Review – 17 March 2017

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights in the news from the past week at RheumNow.com.  News on hepatitis C in RA and risk of hepatotoxicity; TNF inhibitor persistence in PsA; unnecessary injections in pre-operative OA knee patients; and a delay in the FDA decision on abaloparatide.

The RheumNow Week in Review – 10 March 2017

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews news and highlights from the past week on RheumNow.com.  Sign up at RheumNow.com to received daily or weekly news, blogs and tweets on all things rheumatology

CDC Says 1 in 5 Have Arthritis

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In the United States, doctor-diagnosed arthritis is a common and widespread chronic condition (1,2). Arthritis is a leading cause of disability (3) and is projected to affect 78.4 million adults by 2040.

TNF Inhibitor Therapy and the Risk of Anterior Uveitis Recurrence

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The TNF inhibitor drug development trials have indirectly taught us that monoclonal antibody based TNFi was capable of retarding the recurrence of anterior uveitis (AU) in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

Obesity Associated with Late-Onset Psoriatic Arthritis

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A recent study reports that obesity is linked to late-onset psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis (PsA).  By contrast being of normal weight may be associated with an earlier onset of the disease adn HLA-B27.

DMARD Switching in Psoriatic Arthritis

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Switching biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (bDMARD) therapy after failure of a first bDMARD for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) can be effective, according to a review of the literature and PsA consensus treatment recommendations.

Biosimilar Reports – February 2017

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Biosimilar reports is an ongoing series dedicated to advances, discussions and developments in biosimilar agents intended for use by rheumatologists. Many of these items were compiled from news sources, journal articles and regulatory documents and are cited and linked within each section.

Valeants Brodalumab FDA Approved for Psoriasis

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FDA has approvesd the IL-17 targeted therapy Siliq (brodalumab) for moderate-severe plaque psoriasis.