Dr. Jack Cush reviews the journal articles and news reports from the past week on RheumNow.com:
MMP-7 and Myositis-ILD; Post-surgical gout attacks; CV events and testosterone; and a Boxed warning for tofacitinib.

Psoriasis confers a significant risk of comorbidity, but is psoriasis associated with increased coronary inflammation and is this risk attenuated by biologic therapy?

JAMA Cardiology has published a cohort study of 134 consecutive patients with moderate to severe psoriasis, showing that biologic therapy was associated with a significant decrease in coronary inflammation as assessed by perivascular fat attenuation index, a marker of coronary inflammation associated with cardiovascular outcomes. Patients not receiving biologic therapy had no change in perivascular fat attenuation index at 1 year.

Analysis of RA patients in the German biologics register, RABBIT, shows an increased risk of psoriasis with TNF inhibitor (TNFi) compared to csDMARDs and other non-TNFi biologics. 

Medscape has reported the results of the US News & World Report's annual ranking of the best adult rheumatology hospitals nationwide has again honored Johns Hopkins Hospital, with runner up status going to the Cleveland Clinic, Hospital for Special Surgery, NewYork-Presbyterian Unive

The incidence rate of joint surgery among patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) has remained persistently high, double that of the general population, according to a new Danish cohort study.

Part II of this series is a direct message to rheumatologists. If we’re doing such a great job in RA, then why do we need a war on RA? Why is this conflict being laid at the feet of good soldier rheumatologists, those who toil daily at winning therapeutic battles one patient at a time? The reasons are blunt and true.

A 12‐month, Phase 2 trial has shown that subcutaneous abatacept was well tolerated in patients with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc), but failed to significantly change the skin outcomes as measured by the change in modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS)

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news, journal reports, and FDA releases and deliberations covered this past week on RheumNow.com

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved new warnings about an increased risk of blood clots and of death with the 10 mg twice daily dose of tofacitinib (Xeljanz, Xeljanz XR), which is used in patients with ulcerative colitis. 

A post hoc analysis of baricitinib use in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients shows that while many patients respond well to baricitinib monotherapy or to switching to baricitinib monotherapy, those with less disease control respond well to the addition of methotrexate (MTX) to baricitinb.&nb

The FDA convened Arthritis Advisory Committee to consider nintedanib for the treatment of systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) and voted 10-7 in favor of approving the drug for this new indication.

The FINCH2 study has shown that filgotinib, an oral once daily JAK 1 inhibitor, is highly effective in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who failed to respond to prior biologic therapy.

The comparative risk for gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) with non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) was compared to vitamin K antagonists or anti-platelet agents in a recent metanalysis, which showed no significant difference in major GIB events between these agents.

It’s a great time to be a rheumatologist and to manage RA. But, if you keep doing what you’re doing, you’re going to keep getting what you’ve got.

Lancet has reported on a clinical trial comparing total knee replacement (TKR) and partial knee replacement (PKR) in late-stage isolated medial compartment knee osteoarthritis patients finding that both TKR and PKR are equally effective, PKR should be considered the first, because of lower costs

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved apremilast (Otezla) for the treatment of oral ulcers associated with Behçet’s Disease, a rare chronic multisystem inflammatory disease that affects about 5 in 100,000 persons in the USA.

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

A novel compound, synthetic trans‐capsaicin (CNTX‐4975), has been studied as an intraarticular injection and shown to significantly reduce pain in patients with chronic moderate‐to‐severe osteoarthritis of the knee.

A phase II, multicenter, double‐blind study enrolled 172 knee OA patients between the ages of 45–80 years. Patients were randomized to receive either intraarticular placebo, or a high‐purity synthetic trans‐capsaicin CNTX‐4975 0.5 mg, or CNTX‐4975 1.0 mg.

Hip and knee osteoarthritis patients have been shown to have increased mortality rates from cardiovascular events when compared to the general population.

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome affects at least 2 million people in the United States and bears tremendous overlap with fibromyalgia - both being difficult to diagnosis because the symptom complex is often unrecognized and these conditions have no biomarker test.