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Ominous Outcomes for Lupus Nephritis
Hanly and coworkers have reported the results of a large lupus cohort study involving 1827 patients. SLE patients were enrolled early in their disease (0.5 years) and were followed for a mean of 4.6 years.
Read ArticleThe Price of Drugs Continues to Increase
Drug prices increased an average of 10% in 2015 (after a 13.5% increase in 2014) and includes big name drugs from major pharmaceutical companies.
Read ArticleLesinurad augments uric acid lowering effect in allopurinol non-responders
As the never-ending battle with refractory gout continues, the need for more safe and effective treatments remains. Often, steady remission and target urate levels are not achieved with allopurinol alone.
Read ArticlePrescribing Rules
If you are responsible for the outcome and welfare of patients – you need prescribing rules.
If you are supervising others or responsible for the training of those learning rheumatology – you need prescribing rules.
Read ArticleCombination or Monotherapy Tocilizumab in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Several rheumatoid arthritis studies have shown that tocilizumab (TCZ) may be as effective as monotherapy when compared to combination therapy (methotrexate plu
Read ArticleCochrane Reviews Low Back Pain and Exercise
A new Cochrane Review published today shows that targeting exercises to muscles that support and control the spine offers another strategy to reduce pain and disability caused by lower back pain.
Read ArticleGame-Changers 2015: Refining Treatment in Arthritis
Widening experience with JAK inhibition for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and tapering medications among RA patients in remission, along with the success of secukinumab for psoriatic arthritis (PsA), were the most important advances in rheumatology in 2015, according to specialists responding toMedPa
Read ArticleSecukinumab Shows Efficacy in Two Ankylosing Spondylitis Trials
NEJM has published the results of two studies wherein IL-17 inhibition with secukinumab (SEC) was shown to be effective in patients with anklylosing spondylitis.
Read ArticleTofacitinib Shows Promise in Alopecia, Eczema and Vitiligo
Tofacitinib has been approved for use in rheumatoid arthritis.
Read ArticleDSB: Managing Methotrexate Toxicity (Best of 2015: #1)
Methotrexate was first introduced in 1955 for leukemia and in 1986 became FDA approved for the treatment of adults with severe, active, rheumatoid arthritis or children with active polyarticular-course juvenile RA.
Read Article2015 ACR RA Guidelines Released– Finally! (Best of 2015: #2)
ACR 2015 RA treatment guidelines were published yesterday, nearly a year after they were preliminarily presented at the 2014 ACR meeting in Boston. After a year of review and revision these have been posted.
Read ArticleHow I Choose Biologics (Best of 2015)
Clinical decision-making, occurring at the intersection of the ’art’ and the ’science’ of medicine, remains enigmatic and controversial.
Read ArticleThe Nine Lives of Hydroxychloroquine (Best of 2015)
Hydroxychloroquine is one of many medications frequently used in rheumatology practice.
Read ArticleAlcohol and Methotrexate - What Do You Advise? (Best of 2015: #9)
What are your rules on methotrexate and alcohol use? How about casual, social or occasional alcohol use? If one alcoholic beverage is ok, what about 2, 3 or six while taking MTX?
Read ArticlePreventing Hepatitis B Reactivation Due to Immunosuppressive Drug Treatments (Best of 2015)
Reactivation of hepatitis B virus infection can have devastating consequences, especially amongst those patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy.
Read ArticleDAS28-CRP or DAS28-ESR: Are they Biosimilar? (Best of 2015)
The disease activity score (DAS28) has been developed as a dynamic assessment tool and a therapeutic response measure for use in clinical trials and practice.
Read ArticlePCPs Have Become the Largest Prescribers for Narcotics
Researchers at Stanford University analyzed 2013 Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage claims for narcotic painkillers containing hydrocodone, oxycodone, codeine and other opioids. (Citation source http://buff.ly/1JgR2Tr)
Read ArticleWill the Balance of JAK inhibition Yield Better Outcomes? Results of New JAK inhibitor - Peficitinib
Researchers from Keio University have published their results using novel JAK inhibitor peficitinib (ASP015K) as a monotherapy in moderate to severe RA patients.
Read ArticlePredicting and Preventing Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatologists and physicians are commonly asked, "what can I do to avoid rheumatoid arthritis?" This is usually a concern for family members of those affected by RA.
Read ArticleBariatric Surgery Improves Rheumatoid Arthritis Outcomes
Obesity is a modest risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) onset. More importantly, obese patients have significanty lower treatment responses to DMARDs and biologics, making them harder to treat than your average RA patient.
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