Fatigue, HAQ and Hand Disability Correlated in Early Systemic Sclerosis

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Early diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (SSc) was associated with high levels of disability and fatigue, according to analysis of data from the European Scleroderma Observational Study cohort.

Febuxostat Works in Early Gout But Fails to Protect from Xray Damage

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Dalbeth and colleagues have published a novel report in Arthritis & Rheumatology, novel in that it is a trial of early gout patients that looks at clinical and radiographic outcomes. They showed that febuxostat improves magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of synovitis and reduced gout flares, but failed to alter X-ray progression with 2 years follow-up. 

Kidney Dysfunction Frequent in RA

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Renal dysfunction is common among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), particularly among older patients, women, and those with hypertension, Japanese researchers reported.

Knee Surgery Outcomes Worse with Low Education

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Reuters reports that patients who live in low-income communities and lack a college education may have worse pain after knee replacement surgery than their more educated neighbors, citing results from a recent study from the Hospital for Special Surgery in NY.

Do JAK Inhibitors Increase the Risk of Venous Thromboembolic Events?

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Drug Safety has published a systematic review of the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) and finds numerous reports of thromboembolic adverse events (AEs) associated with two currently marketed Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors, tofacitinib (Xeljanz) and ruxolitinib (Jakafi).

PRECISION Subanalyses Question Aspirin Use

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The PRECISION trial reported last year that celecoxib appears to be safer than the NSAIDs naproxen or ibuprofen in treating osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis patients who are at increased cardiovascular risk. New data suggests that adding aspirin may nullify this advantage, according to a study presented at the annual American Heart Association meeting and reported by Medscape.

Ixekizumab (Taltz) FDA Approved for Psoriatic Arthritis

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On Friday, December 1st, the FDA approved Lilly's drug Taltz (ixekizumab) for use in adult patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy. 

Taltz, an IL-17 inhibitor, has previously been approved for plaque psoriasis where it has shown high level PASI75 and PASI100 responses.

Skin Remission in Dermatomyositis is Uncommon

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JAMA Dermatology reports that clinical remission was relatively uncommon in dermatomyositis, despite aggressive systemic therapy, but was best in those receiving mycophenolate during a 3-year study.

Weight Loss Does Not Protect OA Knees

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A new study presented at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) shows that obese people with substantial weight loss may significantly slow down the rate of joint space narrowing (cartilage degeneration) in the knee cartilage, but only if they lose weight through diet and exercise or di

Pregnancy Outcomes Worse with Myopathies

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Women with the autoimmune inflammatory myopathies dermatomyositis (DM) and polymyositis (PM) are at increased risk for hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, a nationwide retrospective study found.

Prevalence of Arthritis Grossly Underestimated

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Researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine have published a new report showing that arthritis affected 91 million adults in the US in 2015 or 37% of the poplulation. Their prevalence estimate is 68% higher than previously reported arthritis national estimates. 

Gout Associated with Work Absenteeism

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Annals of Rheumatic Disease reports that gout is associated with higher work absenteeism and thus, increased costs for society due to productivity loss.

CDC Lyme Disease Surveillance Report

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Lyme disease, caused by the spirochete Borrelia burdofgeri, is the most common vector-borne illness reported in the U.S.

Opioid Crisis Costs US $500 Billion

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Reuters reports that the opioid crisis has cost the United States as much as $504 billion in 2015,  based on a White House economists report released this week. The White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) said the toll from the opioid crisis represented 2.8% of gross dom

ACR17 Good News – Ankylosing Spondylitis and Spondyloarthritis

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The following is a collection of AS/SpA-specific mentions culled from RheumNow's coverage of the Annual ACR 2017 meeting in San Diego.

J&J Hit with a $247 Million Verdict over Metal-on-Metal Hip Replacements

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Reuters reports that a federal jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson and its DePuy Orthopaedics division to pay $247 million settlment to six patients who suffered from its defective Pinnacle, metal-on-metal, hip implants. in the US. J&J says it will  appeal this decision.

Stroke Increased in Rheumatoid Arthritis

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Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, inflammatory disease with systemic effects beyond the joints. While RA patients are known to have signficantly higher risks for cardiovascular disease and venous thromboembolic events, an association with stroke (CVA) is unclear.

Thiopurines and Anti-TNF drugs in IBD Associated with Increased Lymphoma Risk

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JAMA presents a French report on the cancer risk of thiopurine or tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) use in adult patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and finds a raised risk for lymphoma in IBD compared to those not treated with these agents.  (Citation source 

MTX Doubles Hepatotoxicity Risk in Psoriasis Patients

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A study from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine was published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology showing that the risk of incident liver disease doubled when patients with psoriasis (PsO) or psoriatic arthritis (PsA) take methotrexate (MTX), but not when

The ACR17 RheumNow Week in Review - 10 November 2017

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This special edition of the RheumNow Week in Review covers highlights of selected sessions from the 2017 ACR annual meeting in San Diego. Dr.