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.

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).

A multinational trial finds a statistically significant number of patients with Behçet's syndrome showed a greater reduction in the number of oral ulcers with apremilast compared with placebo.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has completed its $74 billion acquisition of Celgene. With the acquisition complete, Celgene is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of BMS. The combined companies have nine products with more than $1 billion in annual sales.

Dr. Jack Cush recaps standout presentations and information from ACR 2019 held in Atlanta November 9-12, 2019.

Largely because it can be difficult to do studies in pregnant women, gaps remain in the area of rheumatic disease in pregnancy. This year’s ACR highlights some important new points to consider.

Below are several of the highlight studies in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) presented at the ACR 2019 annual meeting in Atlanta. 

Monday was another full day of sessions and studies here in Atlanta. Following is my roundup of day two.

The Safety of Methotrexate

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.

Dr. Jack Cush presents his favorite abstracts and presentations from Rheumatology Round Up and ACR 2019.

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

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.

A cohort study of 97 patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) examined the prescribing practices in PsA, and found biologics are commonly initiated as the primary mode of therapy in outpatients with PsA. However, treatment modifications can be made regarding patients who are managed with apremilast alone.

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.

Reuters reports that Mallinckrodt Plc has received a subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for documents related to the drugmaker’s lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

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.

An analysis from the Women’s Health Initiative study shows that postmenopausal women who participate in vigorous physical activity have a statistically lower risk of total and site-specific fractures

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.