RheumNow Podcast – A Tofa Two-fer (4.12.19)

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

GCA Relapse Risk High with Steroids

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Prior to the introduction of tocilizumab to manage giant cell arteritis (GCA), glucocorticoids (GC) have been the mainstay of therapy, but has been limited by relapses in disease.

Dietary Supplements Fail to Reduce Mortality Risks

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An NIH funded prospective study has shown that the use of daily dietary supplements was not associated with a subsequent lowering of mortality risk.

An Autoimmune Diagnosis Alters Perceptions of Pregnancy and Lactation

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A study from UT Southwestern and the Baylor Research Institute examined the preceptions and practices of women with autoimmune or inflammatory rheumatic diseases (AIRD) noting that an AIRD diagnosis changed most womens future hopes and plans regarding pregnancy and lactation.

FDA Approves Romosuzumab (Evenity) for High Risk Osteoporosis

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The US Food and Drug Administration today approved Evenity (romosozumab-aqqg) to treat osteoporosis in postmenopausal women at high risk of osteoporotic fracture, including those with a history of osteoporotic fracture or multiple risk factors for fracture, or those who have failed or are intoler

Chronic Kidney Disease Augments Gout Risks

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A population based cohort analysis shows that patients with incident gout and chronic kidney disease (CKD) have far worse outcomes than those without CKD.

ACR Position Statements on Drug Pricing and Step Therapy

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The American College of Rheumatology Committee on Rheumatologic Care has released new drug pricing and step therapy position statements that they hope legislators will consider as they continue to explore policy and regulatory options to make drugs more affordable and accessible.  

Increasing Prevalence and Consequences of Interstitial Lung Disease in RA

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Interstitial lung disease (ILD) has been a hot topic in numerous journals recently with reports of increasing incidence and links to disease activity.

FDA Approves Cimzia for Non-Radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) injection for treatment of adults with a certain type of inflammatory arthritis called non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA), with objective signs of inflammation.

For RA With COPD, Abatacept is Safe

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Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who also had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) had no increased risk of serious respiratory complications when treated with abatacept (Orencia), a large claims-based analysis found.

Guidelines for Osteoporosis Management in Postmenopausal Women

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New guidelines on the  "Pharmacologic Management of Osteoporosis in Postmenopausal Women," were presented March 25 at ENDO 2019 - The Endocrine Society Annual Meeting and simultaneously published online in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 

Acute Problems Associated With Cannabis Use

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An observational study published in Annals of Internal Medicine finds that emergency department (ED) visits attributable to inhaled cannabis are more frequent than those attributable to edible cannabis, although the latter is associated with more acute psychiatric visits and more ED visits than e

Presenting Features of Early SLE

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What clinical features best identify early systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients from mimics?  A multicenter, multinational study aimed to evaluate manifestations at disease onset and to compare early SLE manifestations to those of diseases mimicking SLE.

Artificial Intelligence to Predict Rheumatoid Disease Activity

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A recent study in JAMA Network Open shows that artificial intelligence models can use electronic health record data to prognosticate future patient outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Resistant Hypertension Common in SLE

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Rates of resistant hypertension were doubled among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), significantly increasing their mortality risks, a retrospective single-center study found.

Improved Mortality Trends in Lupus Nephritis

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The mortality rate from end- stage renal disease (ESRD) in lupus nephritis (LN) patients has significantly decreased in the last decade.

Risky Painkillers Commonly Prescribed for Osteoarthritis

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Published guidelines warn that treating osteoarthritis (OA) with opioids and benzodiazepines can boost patients' risk of falling.

Cyclosporin and IVIG Effective in Kawasaki's Disease

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A Lancet study has shown that adding cyclosporin to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) Kawasaki disease patients, who were predicted to be resistant to IVIG, was both safe and effective in averting severe coronary artery outcomes.

No Rise in Cancer Risk with Actemra

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In patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), there was no increased risk for malignancy development seen with newly initiated tocilizumab (Actemra) treatment, an analysis of three U.S. insurance claim databases found.

CRA Position Statement on Medical Cannabis Use

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Courtesy of the Canadian Rheumatology Association (CRA) website, here are consensus guidelines on medical cannabis use.

Rheumatology patients experience prevalent pain that is only modestly controlled with current treatment strategies.