The association between the use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), osteoporosis (OP) and OP-related fragility fractures has been a topic of ongoing discussion in rheumatology community.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights from this past week on RheumNow.com:

A study of 90 consecutive male (50.3±11.1 years) with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) were were compared to 240 age matched controls without known cardiovascular (CV) diseases who underwent angiography for chest pain and/or multiple CV risk factors.

Elderly patients treated with high doses of corticosteroids are bound to have multiple medical problems. But this was only recently quantified by researchers analyzing a a population-based cohort of biopsy-proven giant cell arteritis (GCA) patients in Southern Sweden.

Similar to the findings in rheumatoid arthritis, lower levels of education can have predictable negative consequences. And the reasons for more heart attacks with lower educational levels is not entirely clear.

Is being a “weekend warrior” and cramming the recommended amount of weekly physical activity into one or two sessions associated with lower risks for death?

A new article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that compared with inactive adults, weekend warriors who performed the recommended amount of 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity in one or two sessions per week had lower risks for death from all causes, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer.

Jennsen et al previously reported their findings regarding weight reductions ability to improve cutaneous psoriasis at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) meeting in 2015, Now their results are published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights from the first week of 2017 on RheumNow.com.

Happy New Year!

Disease Activity Pre-pregnancy During Pregnancy Post-pregnancy
Mild 10 6 4
Moderate 2 6 8
Severe 2 2 2

Several important lines of population and large cohort research have shown that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients have a substantially higher risk for myocardial infarction and major cardiovascular events.

The current online edition of JAMA examines the evidence from 27 clinical trials and 1767 patients to assess the impact of intra-articular corticosteroids in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA).

There are more than 11 million proton pump inhibitor (PPI) prescriptions written each year in the United States. While these agents have dramatically changed the management and outcome of upper gastrointestinal (GI) erosive and inflammatory disorders, their use has not been without safety concerns.

Colitis onset or worsening inflammatory bowel disease has been reported with either of the new IL-17 inhibitors, ixekizumab (IXE) and secukinumab (SEC). Large database studies show these to be rare.

Eli Lilly and Company announced last friday that the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has issued a positive opinion, recommending the approval of baricitinib for the treatment of adults with moderate to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (R

Osteoporosis is a major public health problems and is associated with a high burden of fractures and subsequent increased mortality.

Gastrointestinal perforation is a rare but serious complication that RA patients may be at particular risk for.

No new osteoporosis drugs hit the market this year, but two are progressing through the development pipeline and are showing promise.

Do hospitalized Medicare beneficiaries treated by female internists have lower rates of 30-day mortality and hospital readmission than those patients treated by men? A new study published online by JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that they do.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights from this week on RheumNow.com