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Does Methotrexate Work in Giant Cell Arteritis?
There seems to be both hope and uncertainty regarding the use of weekly methotrexate (MTX) in giant cell arteritis (GCA) patients whom need to limit their glucocorticoid use.
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FDA Panel Backs Approval of Romosuzumab for Osteoporosis
The US Food and Drug Administration’s advisory committee on Bone, Reproductive and Urologic Drugs voted Wednesday in favor of approving Amgen’s osteoporosis anti-sclerostin drug, romosozumab (Evenity) for use women with postmenopausal osteoporosis.
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Anakinra for Acute Crystal-Induced Arthritis
A retrospective analysis of hospitalized patients who also had a gout and pseudogout attack shows that injections of anakinra (interleukin-1 receptor antagonist) were highly effective and safe in nearly three-quarters of patients.
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Febuxostat Gets Reprieve from FDA Advisory Panel
On January 11, 2019 the FDA convened two advisory panels (the Arthritis Advisory Committee [AAC] and the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee [DSaRM]) to consider the cardiovascular safety of febuxostat (Uloric) based on the 2018 “Cardiovascular Safety of Febuxostat and Allopurinol
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IL-6 Blocker Succeeds in Real-World Vasculitis
Tocilizumab (Actemra) was effective for refractory giant cell arteritis (GCA) in real-world practice, although serious infections occurred relatively frequently, Spanish investigators reported.
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Assessing the Performance of Aging Physicians
A JAMA Viewpoint article examines the performance of aging surgeons and notes that the effects of aging affects physicians variably and that physician competency should be based on functional age (and abilities) rather than chronologic age. This argues against a mandatory retirement age for surgeons.
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Early Predictive Factors for Scleroderma Renal Crisis
It has been historically said that risk factors for scleroderma renal crisis (SRC) includes include cold exposure, steroid use, dehydration, rapid progression of skin disease, tendon friction rubs, anti-RNA polymerase III antibodies and pregnancy. A new study examines risk factor for S
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Diet and Weight Loss Improves Psoriatic Arthritis
Short-term intervention with the very low energy diet (VLED) in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) with obesity (body mass index BMI ≥ 33 kg/m2) showed that weight loss was associated with significant positive benefits on weight and disease activity in joints, entheses and skin.
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Only One-Third of Gout Patients Receive Urate-Lowering Drugs
The most recent analysis of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey [NHANES] 2007-2016) data shows the prevalence of gout to be 9.3 million in the USA.
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RheumNow Podcast – Gout Spot Light (1.11.19)
Dr. Jack Cush discusses the highlights from the past week on RheumNow.com:
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Heberden’s Nodes Predict Knee OA Progression
Hand and knee osteoarthritis are considered to be clinically and pathogenically different and distinct, but a new study suggests that Heberden's nodes (HNs) can predict MRI‐based knee osteoarthritis (OA) progression.
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NEJM Review - Glucocorticoid-Induced Osteoporosis
Lenore Buckley and Mary Humphrey have published a nice review of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP) in the NEJM.
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Price of Drug Promotion Skyrockets
JAMA reports that health care advertising costs in the U.S. have almost doubled over the past two decades, surging from $17.7 billion in 1997 to at least $29.9 billion in 2016.
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Combo RA Treatment May Boost Risk for Serious Adverse Events
A current meta-analysis of safety and efficacy of combination bDMARD treatment in RA patients shows that combination treatments increase serious advese event (SAE) risks, and the risk for serious infections in particular.
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Opioids Double Rates of Suicides and Overdoses
An article in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that the rates of suicide and drug overdoses has doubled in the last 17 years, and that opioids are largely to blame.
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2018 Rheumatology Year In Review
This annual appraisal of hallmark moments, news and research articles from 2018 are gleaned from that published in RheumNow during the last year and filtered by other news sources and literature review. The top 10 list herein is rooted in what rheumatologists should know and what will likel
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Uncertain Long Term Efficacy in Trials of Knee Osteoarthritis
A systematic review and network meta-analysis of 47 randomized clinical trials in knee osteoarthritis finds uncertainty around estimates of effect size for pain scores thereby casting uncertainty over the long-term efficacy of medications for knee osteoarthritis.
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Sleep Apnea Increases Gout Risk
Both Gout and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) comingle with a wide range of serious comorbidities. A matched retrospective cohort study from the UK Clinical Practice Research database shows those with OSA are at a higher risk of developing gout.
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Severe Cutaneous Sarcoid Treated with Tofacitinib
Researchers from Yale have taken a novel approach and shown benefits when using tofacitinib in severe cutaneous sarcoidosis.
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Best of 2018: The Safety of Paternal Exposure to DMARDs and Biologics
Pregnancy and drug safety is a complex issue, often with limited information about maternal drug exposure on the offspring. Greater uncertainty exists when considering whether paternal exposure may also influence fetal outcomes.
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