Gilead has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for filgotinib, an investigational, oral, selective JAK1 inhibitor for the treatment of adults who are living with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news from the past week on RheumNow.com, just in time for Christmas!

Lancet reports that the selective JAK1 inhibitor, upadacitinib, was effective when given to patients with active ankylosing spondylitis.

Belimumab has been studied in an active lupus nephritis, phase 3 trial call BLISS-LN and shown to be effective as measured by  trial of belimumab for the treatment of active lupus nephritis in adult patients.

The NEJM published favorable results of a phase 3 trial of the alpha interferon inhibitor, anifrolumab, showing it to be superior to placebo in active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients studied for 48 weeks.

French researchers have shown that patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and inactive disease are less likely to flare while taking a 5 mg prednisone maintenance dose.

Reuters -  Doctors rarely talk about weight concerns with patients who are overweight or obese, and when they do, patients’ experiences tend to be negative, according to a new review of research based on interviews.

Domestic violence was found to predispose to a higher risk of fibromyalgia and those developing chronic fatigue syndrome.

The French Vasculitis Study Group has published that patients with systemic necrotizing vasculitis do not have an increased risk of malignancy; in fact they have a risk that is similar to the general population.

Analysis of New Zealand hospitalized patients revals nine predictors of inpatient flare for people with comorbid gout.

This retrospective cohort study of hospitalised patients with comorbid gout included 625 hospitalised patients, 87 experienced inpatient gout flare.

Dr. Jack Cush recaps the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com.

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.

Patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) who have persistent inflammation -- characterized by consistently elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) -- have more severe disease and worse outcomes, a retrospective study confirmed.

IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a relatively new disorder since 2003, and may present as a diagnostic challenge as it can cause fibroinflammatory pathology in nearly any organ. 

A Canadian analysis shows that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients are more likely to receive biologic DMARDs earlier if they are younger, female, and living in urban areas closer to prescribers.

A report from Lancet Rheumatology shows that glucocorticoid use contributes to damage accrual in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) independent of disease activity.

Today, the U.S.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com.

In the United Kingdom, NICE has looked to the British Society of Rheumatology (BSR) to develop evidence based guidance on the safe use of biologic DMARDs in patients with inflammatory arthritis.

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.