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b/ts-DMARDs Do Not Arrest Bone Loss in RA
In RA, the goal is to control or arrest inflammation such that articular and bony damage is halted. While we have many effective therapies, it is not clear that biologic or targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (b/tsDMARDs) can prevent or improve osteoporosis outcomes in RA. A current real-world study showed that 1 year of b/tsDMARDs use did not arrest osteoporosis progression.
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NEJM: Obinutuzumab in Active Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
A phase 3 trial of obinutuzumab, an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, showed potent B-cell depletion and clinical efficacy active systemic lupus erythematosus without evidence of nephritis.
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Long-Term Hydroxychloroquine Retinopathy Risk
MedPage Today
About one in 18 patients taking hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) for 15 years develop retinal damage, a new meta-analysis indicated.
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TYK2 Inhibitor Deucravacitinib FDA Approved for Psoriatic Arthritis
On Friday, March 6th, the FDA approved deucravacitinib (Sotyktu) for the treatment of adults with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) based on the results of the pivotal Phase 3 POETYK PsA-1 and POETYK PsA-2 clinical trials.
UBER Rheumatology Ride (3.6.2026)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this week on RheumNow.com
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Open-access Arthralgia Clinics
The early diagnosis in inflammatory arthritis (IA), particularly rheumatoid arthritis (RA), hinges on efficient referral and screening of arthralgia patients.
Treat-to-Target and Cardiovascular Benefits in Gout
A new user cohort study of 109 504 gout patients, achieving a serum urate level less than 6 mg/dL, was associated with a significantly lower risk of cardiovascular events.
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Hydroxychloroquine Lowers SLE and RA Hospitalizations
A population based study from British Columbia, Canada, shows that antimalarial adherence was associated with a lower risk of hospital admission in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
Swiss study of 1st TNFi efficacy in 3324 axial spondy (axSpA) (≤1 yr=very early Dz,441; 1-2 yrs =early axSpA, 218; >2 yrs=establi axSpA, 2575). After adjusting for age/sex, B27, etc, no signif. difference seen when TNFi started regarding later outcomes: TNFi retention, or ASDAS https://t.co/1EaP8UOsVt
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Poor sleep increases risk of #RA. English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. RA risk was signif. higher in those with moderate sleep quality (SQ) (HR 1.23) or poor SQ (HR 1.50), cmpared to good SQ. Partly mediated by depression https://t.co/kTbCUHeIGi https://t.co/6CD5tsKDdA
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Muscular strength is a resilience marker relevant to function. A prospective cohort study of 5472 women (mean 79 yrs), showed that greater muscular strength (grip strength, chair stand time) was assoc w/ lower mortality (HR 0.85- 0.67) https://t.co/HEO4r2cdmS https://t.co/Ada3Bnrt0Z
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Observational study of 42 Mexican lupus nephritis pts on Immunosuppressives + Calcineurin Inhibitors (CNIs) @ 12 mos complete & partial responses seen in 26% & 36%, w/ signif reduction in proteinuria (2.89 vs 0.72 g/d, p < .001), & transient decrease in eGFR at 12 mo (109 vs 114) https://t.co/Het4GKaTmv
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Open-access Arthralgia Clinics
The early diagnosis of IA, particularly RA, hinges on efficient referral and screening of arthralgia patients. Yet most rheumatology practices are ill-equipped or don't have EACs. This report describes the use of an OAC to manage primary care https://t.co/8ut6LkIUEX
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Missed #RheumNowLive 2026?
The full meeting is now available On Demand.
✔ 2 days of clinical updates
✔ Expert faculty panels
✔ Speaker slides
✔ Pre-learn modules
Watch anytime for $250.
Learn from the meeting that kicks off the year in rheumatology.
🔗 Access here: https://t.co/jRvmbf87cs
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Metanalysis of 8 articles, 2655 gout pts shows that ELEVATED neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR; SMD: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.48–1.03) and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR; SMD: 0.52; 95% CI: 0.24–0.79) showed significant value in predicting acute gout attacks https://t.co/RaArPdoc2s https://t.co/Qi2WDSPlde
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Observational study of 42 Mexican lupus nephritis pts on Immunosuppressives + Calcineurin Inhibitors (CNIs) @ 12 mos complete & partial responses seen in 26% & 36%, w/ signif reduction in proteinuria (2.89 vs 0.72 g/d, p < .001), & transient decrease in eGFR at 12 mo (109 vs 114) https://t.co/G70POtJwhS
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BREAKING NEWS: How many patients with RA achieve and maintain remission with a JAKi? Find out in the RheumNow poster hall with data from the latest real-world study of long-term RA remission. Sponsored by AbbVieMedical Affairs + Health Impact. https://t.co/PPYVfz3tuC https://t.co/Boq8V3qqFp
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Equivalent Healthcare Outcomes by Nurses and Physicians
With increasing demand for health services in an aging population, serving complex patients with comorbidities, and increasing healthcare costs, the question of whether nurses can substitute for physicians was addressed by https://t.co/nKsFn7pUgw
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OA & Exercise? Metanalysis of 5 reviews (n=8631) & 28 trials (n=4360) show little or no proof that exercise benefits OA. Exercise has small, short-term effects vs placebo & no-treatment for knee OA pain. Moderate evidence of no effects in hip, & small effects in hand OA. https://t.co/ycLGNlP8Sf
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The prevalence of Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in Australia is 26,788 (16,294 certain, 10,494 uncertain cases). Betw 2010-2022 incidence was 77-127/100,000 (certain cases). About half had received SLE care in an outpatient setting. Australia is 1/13 the population of USA https://t.co/n1sbFNPRbn
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