The Annals of Internal Medicine reports that despite improving trends in mortality, death rates from systematic lupus erythematosus (lupus) remain high compared to those in the general population, and disparities persist between subpopulations and geographic regions. Underreporting of lupus on death certificates may have resulted in underestimates of mortality rates. 

PNAS reports that ANCA induced neutrophil activation, generation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETS), and vasculitis are regulated by necroptosis. Using inhibitors of necroptosis-inducing kinases they were able to prevent ANCA associated vasculitis (AAV) in animal models. 

In the UK, NICE has accredited the British Society of Rheumatology (BSR) to develop a guidance document on the management of systemic lupus erythematosus in adults.  The last published guidelines for lupus were published in 2008 by EULAR and in 2012 by the ACR.

The RheumNow Week in Review discusses the past week's news, journal articles and highlights from RheumNow.com. In this week's report, Dr. Jack Cush discusses when to hold the biologic, lymphoma risk with tofacitinib, early clues to the diagnosis of RA, biologic use in pregnancy, what's killing psoriasis patients and the 2016 top 5, best selling drugs in rheumatology.

While it is highly desirable to avoid medications during conception and pregnancy, statistics show that >90% of women take at least one drug during pregnancy and nearly half will take 3 or more medications during pregnancy.

A registry based study has shown higher rates of immune mediated diseases (IMD) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

The British Society of Rheumatology (BSR) has been accredited by NICE to develop a guidance document for the management of primary Sjögren's Syndrome intended for rheumatologists, general physicians, general practitioners, specialist nurses and other specialists (e.g.

The RheumNow Week in Review discusses the past week's news, journal articles and highlights from RheumNow.com. This week's report discusses regulatory actions by NICE and FDA, higher death rates in RA and psoriasis, increased risk of RA with Asthma, rising numbers for OA, RA, and STDs.

A one-year prospective study of 624 patients undergoing autoantibody testing for anti-SS-A and/or anti-SS-B autoantibodies finds that isolated anti-SS-B autoantibodies was not associated with features or the diagnosis of any specific connective tissue diseases (CTD).

The RheumNow Week in Review discusses the past week's news, journal articles and highlights from RheumNow.com. This week's report discusses survey results on membranous nephritis and patient perceptions of steroids, nonadherence, celebrity arthritis and IgG4 treatment.

PLOS reports  greater than 90% efficacy when rituximab (RTX) is used to treat patients with IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD). 

A French retrospective study of 318 Takayasu's arteritis (TA) patients shows that 50% of patients will relapse and experience a vascular complication ≤10 years from diagnosis. 

The RheumNow Week in Review discusses the past week's news, journal articles and highlights from RheumNow.com. This week's report discusses metabolic syndrome in lupus, bisphosphonate holidays, vasculitis and vascular inflammation, vaccination, and the repeated wonders of Vitamin D.

Infections and noninfectious pulmonary disease were associated with an increased risk for idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM), a Swedish study found.

A Swedish population-based study found a nearly fourfold greater risk of all-cause mortality in idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) patients compared with the general population.

The current issue of Arthritis & Rheumatology features an editorial and two novel articles on the herpes zoster vaccine.

The RheumNow Week in Review discusses the past week's news, journal articles and highlights from RheumNow.com.

A European multicentre study examined whether the duration of azathioprine (AZA) maintenance therapy in ANCA-associated vasculitis patients would influence the relapse rate during long-term follow-up.

Beyond diagnosis, management of neuropsychiatric lupus (NPSLE) can be challenging. Moreover, there are scant studies addressing optimal management. In this issue of Clinical Rheumatology, researchers show the efficacy of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and deflazacort in NPSLE.

Increased morbidity and mortality from infectious causes in patients with autoimmune disorders has led to the overall consensus that vaccination of such patients is important and should be widely promoted in clinical practice.