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RheumNow Podcast - The Elusive Hand OA Problem (12.13.19)
Dr. Jack Cush recaps the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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Short-term Benefit with Prednisolone in Hand Osteoarthritis
Lancet reports that prednisolone 10 mg daily for 6 weeks can effectively control the pain of hand osteoarthritis (OA), according to results from the Hand Osteoarthritis Prednisolone Efficacy (HOPE) study.
This was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial aimed to assess the short-term effects of prednisolone in painful hand OA and synovial inflammation. Patients were required to have hand OA and signs of inflammation in their distal and proximal interphalangeal (DIP/PIP) joints and > 4 DIP/PIP osteoarthritic nodes and at least one DIP/PIP joint with soft swelling/erythema or evidence of synovitis on power Doppler ultrasound. The primary endpoint was finger pain.
Secukinumab Improves Enthesitis
Secukinumabs (SEC) effect on enthesitis in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) was studied in the FUTURE 2 and 3 studies and SEC was shown significantly reduced enthesitis by more than 65% within 14 week.
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Smoking Cessation Lowers RA Disease Activity and CV Risks
A multinational cross-sectional cohort study suggests that smoking cessation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients is associated with lower disease activity measures, improved lipid profiles and lower rates of cardiovascular (CV) events.
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Spondyloarthritis Affects Pregnancy Outcomes
A Danish registy has shown that the the prevalence of Spondyloarthritis (SpA) diagnosed prior to delivery has increased 5 fold in the last two decades and that SpA is associated with an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes (APO).
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Psoriatic Arthritis at ACR 2019
Below are several of the highlight studies in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) presented at the ACR 2019 annual meeting in Atlanta.
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ACR 2019 – Best of the Plenary Sessions
The ACR Plenary Sessions featured some of the best research presented on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday in Atlanta. Here are my seven notable highlights from the Plenaries.
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RheumNow Podcast – Better Ways to Treat Gout (11.8.19)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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T2T Lowers Mortality in Gout
A Spanish prospective cohort of active, uncontrolled gout patients were followed and showed that failure to reach a target serum uric acid (sUA) level of 6 mg/dl (0.36 mmol/L) or less was associated with a 2-3 fold increase in mortality.
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In RA, Activity Protects Cognition
Physical activity appeared to be protective against the development of cognitive impairments among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a prospective cohort study found.
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New EMA Warnings for Tofacitinib in Patients at Risk for Clots
The European Medicines Agency safety committee (PRAC) has concluded that Xeljanz (tofacitinib - TOFA) could increase the risk of blood clots in the lungs and in deep veins in patients who are already at high risk for venous thromboembolic events. The PRAC is recommending that TOFA should be used with caution in patients at high risk of blood clots (VTE), regardless of dose used.
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Year in Review - Psoriatic Arthritis 2019
Major new insights into the treatment of psoriatic arthritis dominated the headlines during the past year, with a head-to-head trial comparing IL-17A inhibition with tumor necrosis factor blockade, another study considering whether methotrexate can improve outcomes with anti-TNF therapy in PsA, and an investigation into the effects of biologic therapy on bone.
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EXCEED Study: Cosentyx Equals Humira in Psoriatic Arthritis
Novartis has announced the results of the EXCEED trial that pitted its IL-17 inhibitor, Cosentyx (secukinumab - SEC) against Humira (adalimumab - ADA) in patients with active psoriatic arthritis. The trial demonstrated that SEC was not non-inferior to ADA, but failed to meet its primary endpoint of superiority over ADA as far as drug efficacy.
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Rinvoq (upadacitinib) Effective in Psoriatic Arthritis
Yesterday, AbbVie reported the top-line study results showing the efficacy of Rinvoq (upadacitinib - UPAD) adult patients with active psoriatic arthritis who previously had an inadequate response to a biologic DMARD.
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RheumNow Podcast – Ghastly, Ghoulish News (10.31.19)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews recent journal articles and info bits from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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The Global Burden of Rheumatoid Arthritis 2017
The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors study (GBD) from 2017 analyzed the burden of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for 195 countries between 1990 to 2017 and surmised that RA is a major global public health challenge, with increasing prevalence and incidence rates.
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Outcomes in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
Arthritis Research & Therapy reports on a prospective cohort of children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) shows that the incidence has held steady at 12.8/100,000 children, but that the frequency uveitis and the need for orthopedic surgery has decreased in the last 20 years.
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Methotrexate and the Risk of Lung Disease
Rheumatology has a comprehensive overview of methotrexate (MTX) and the risk of lung injury, MTX-related pneumonitis and interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD) with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Past reports suggest the frequence of MTX-pneumonitis to be between 0.3 and 11.6%; recent studies suggest it may be much lower.
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RheumNow Podcast – The Shoes Maketh the Doctor (10.25.19)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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Patients Prefer Nurse Led Care for their Gout
Despite the well known, well publicized treat-to-target (T2T) goal of a serum uric acid (SUA) level 6 mg/dl, this goal is seldom achieved ( 40%) in clinical practice and patient adherence has been unacceptably low. A recent study shows that nurse-led care led to better outcomes in gout including patient acceptability, long-term adherence, and less flares.
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