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Best of 2017: Are ANA Tests Unreliable?
Pisetsky and colleagues have reported in the Annals of Rheumatic Disease that ANA tests done on established SLE patients may yield surprisingly disparate results.
While ANA negative lupus was a problem of old assays and the loss of ANA positivity may be seen with chronicity or age, most rheumatologists believe that ANA positivity is an absolute requirement for the diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus.
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The RheumNow Week in Review – Life Savers for Rheumatologists (6.29.18)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews selected news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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Abatacept Misses in Lupus Nephritis
Dr. Richard Furie, MD, of Northwell Health in New York, presented the findings ofa large phase III trial of abatacept (Orencia) in lupus nephritis showing the agent failed to achieve a complete renal response.
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The Stress - Autoimmune Disease Connection
"Can stresss be the cause of my autoimmune disease?" is an often launched question met with shrugs of uncertainty or strongly held beliefs rooted in bias moreso than fact.
Swedish investigators have analyzed a large registry cohort and shown that exposure to stress-related disorders yields a significantly increased risk of autoimmune disease. They analyzed 106,464 patients with stress-related disorders, with 126,652 full siblings, and over a million non-stressed matched controls to assess a future risk of autoimmune disease.
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EULAR 2018 - Day 1 Report
Highlights from the first day at EULAR include: canakinumab prevents acute gout; AS uveitis benefits from most TNFi; MRI does not improve T2Tor X-ray outcomes; baracitinib wins in SLE - maybe?; new lupus criteria; and lost survival in RA. Here's the RheumNow recap.
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Cancer Therapies Inducing Immune-Related Adverse Events (irAEs)
Recent shifts in the cancer treatment paradigm towards immune therapies has led to wide implementation of the novel immune check point inhibitors (ICI) in the treatment of multiple types of advanced cancer.
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The Microbiome and Lupus Connection Reviewed
In the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Drs. James Rosenbaum and Gregg Silverstein review the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) from the viewpoint of a dysbiolsis.
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The 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.
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SPAR Predicts ILD Progression in Systemic Sclerosis
The development and progression of interstitial lung disease in systemic sclerosis can be an ominous finding.
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Low Disease Activity in Lupus Limits Damage
Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who were assessed as being in a low disease activity state during more than half of clinical visits had a decrease in organ damage events of approximately 50%, a retrospective study found.
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Long Term Remission in SLE is Possible?
Researchers from the Toronto Lupus Clinic have described an atypical “monophasic” course in a small number (7.5%) of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients who achieved and sustained clinical remission, with most off of all medications for an average of 18 years.
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Ustekinumab: 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.
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MPO Antibodies Predict Relapses in MPO-ANCA-Associated Vasculitis
A study of MPO-ANCA positive patients followed serially over 2 years shows that reappearance of MPO‐ANCA may predict relapse in patients with MPO‐ANCA positive AAV and that routine MPO‐ANCA monitoring is warranted.
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The RheumNow Week in Review – Modifiable Behavior (5.18.18)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com. He discusses opioids, new approval for polyarticular JIA, running and osteoarthritis, and modifiable behaviors that influence outcomes.
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The RheumNow Week in Review - Nonadherence and Astronomic Costs (5.11.18)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights, news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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Severity of Lupus Nephritis is Declining over Time
A retrospective follow-up study of 499 lupus nephritis (LN) patients over three successive eras shows that LN has become less severe in recent years and thus, better long-term survival is possible.
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Mortality Risks Shift in Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis
Mortality remains high in granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), but the causes of death tend to change over time, a researcher reported here.
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The RheumNow Week in Review – Why Comorbidity is Like the Weather (5.3.18)
Dr. Jack Cush discusses the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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The 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.
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Fixed 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).
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