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ACR Responds to Association Health Plans Proposed Rule
In comments submitted today to the US Department of Labor in response to its Association Health Plans (AHP) proposed rule, the American College of Rheumatology urged Administration officials to protect essential health benefits and other consumer protections that make it possible for individuals
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Abatacept Efficacy in JIA
Subcutaneous abatacept (Orencia) showed efficacy among children with polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) in an open-label phase III trial.
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Severe Stevens-Johnson and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis Syndromes May Respond to Etanercept
The Journal of Clinical Investigation reports the results of a trial wherein etanercept (ETN) was shown to be effective in treating cytotoxic T lymphocyte–mediated (CTL-mediated) severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs), including Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (T
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Leflunomide May Sensitize the Insulin Receptor and Have an Anti-Glycemic Effect
An animal model study in the Journal of Endocrinololgy reports the potential use of leflunomide in the control of hyperglycemia in male mice.
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The RheumNow Week in Review - 2 March 2018
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and highlights from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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Steroid Use During Rheumatoid Pregnancies
Pregnant women (n=254) with rheumatoid arthritis who enrolled in the MotherToBaby Autoimmune Diseases in Pregnancy Study and who were taking oral glucocorticoids were studied.
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Diet During Pregnancy May Influence Future Allergic or Autoimmune Disease
A systematic review of the literature on the relationship between diet during pregnancy, lactation, or the first year of life suggests that maternal ingestion of probiotic and fish oil supplementation may reduce risk of eczema and allergic sensitization to food, respectively.
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Hip Replacement Augments Longevity
Data from Swedish hip replacement registry finds that total hip arthroplasty not only improves quality of life, it is also associated with increased life expectancy that lasts for 10 years after surgery, especially in primary osteoarthritis patients.
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Inflammatory Arthritis Variants with Checkpoint Inhibitors
Capelli and colleagues have studied patients treated with ICIs and found two variants of inflammatory arthritis (IA) - a reactive arthritis like large joint arthritis with combination ICI therapy or a small joint IA with ICI monotherapy.
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2017 Rheumatology Year in Review
This retrospective review is drawn from the authors collection of the most impactful publications, research and news that occurred in 2017. In no particular order, here are my top rheumatology advances, news and research reports for calendar year 2017.
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Gout Crystal Deposition is Deeper than its Measures
Dalbeth and colleagues have published that among gout patients without palpable tophic and despite long term allopurinol, nearly half have monosodium urate (MSU) as detected by Dual-energy CT (DECT). The total body urate deposition is even greater in those with higher sUA and evidence
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IL-18 Binding Protein Effective in Adult-Onset Still's Disease
Gabay and colleagues have reported the results of a novel new recombinant human IL-18 binding protein, tadekinig alfa, demonstrating its effectiveness in an open-label dose escalating study in patients with adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD).
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Probenecid Benefits Heart Failure
In animal studies, probenecid was shown to have positive inotropic effects on the cardiomyocyte mediated by transient receptor potential vanilloid 2 activation.
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The RheumNow Week in Review - 23 February 2018
Dr Jack Cush reviews highlights from the past week on RheumNow.com. This week’s video is in two parts; for part Ii, go to https://buff.ly/2BM9MjL
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Shorter Steroid Courses Effective in ANCA+ Vasculitis
An 8-week course of prednisone plus rituximab (Rituxin) offered good outcomes in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV), including complete remission, researchers reported.
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Oral Anticoagulation Effective Following Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery
Many protocols call for anticoagulation after total hip or total knee arthroplasty to prevent venous thromboembolism (proximal deep-vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism), and some reports have suggested a role for aspiring or direct oral anticoagulants as preventative therapy. The NEJM has reported that oral anticoagulation with rivaroxaban (Xarelto) followed by aspirin to be effective prophylaxis.
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Equal Cardiovascular Risks in Hypertensive Patients Treated with Selective and Nonselective NSAIDS
A Taiwanese study of 55,629 hypertensive patients shows no increased risk of major cardiovascular events comparing outcomes of patients started on COX-2 selective NSAIDs compared with nonselective NSAIDs (including ibuprofen, diclofenac and naproxen).
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ASCO/NCCN Guidelines for Checkpoint Inhibitor Immune-Related Adverse Events
New guidelines have been developed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) on how to assess and manage of immune checkpoint inhibitor side effects that are often autoimmune in nature.
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Pediatric Use of TNF inhbitors Does Not Increase Malignancy Risk
A study of USA administrative claims data between 2000 to 2014 assessed the risk of cancer with exposure to tumour necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) in pediatric patients and found that TNFi therapy did not significantly increase the risk compared those not receiving TNFi.
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HERO Trial - Hydroxychloroquine Fails in Hand Osteoarthritis
UK researchers have treated 248 patients with moderate to severe hand pain and radiographic osteoarthritis (OA) and demonstrated no benefit after 12 months of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), according to a recent article in Annals of Internal Medicine.
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