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Seropositivity Increases Risk of Rheumatoid Mortality
Three European registries analyzed their cohorts for outcomes that may be related to seropositivity for anticitrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA), rheumatoid factor (RF) and anticarbamylated protein (anti-CarP) antibodies.
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Combination or Monotherapy Tocilizumab in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Several rheumatoid arthritis studies have shown that tocilizumab (TCZ) may be as effective as monotherapy when compared to combination therapy (methotrexate plu
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Game-Changers 2015: Refining Treatment in Arthritis
Widening experience with JAK inhibition for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and tapering medications among RA patients in remission, along with the success of secukinumab for psoriatic arthritis (PsA), were the most important advances in rheumatology in 2015, according to specialists responding toMedPa
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New Scoring System Predicts 1 year survival in Hip Fracture Patients
A prospective study was conducted in Germany to establish predictors of 1 year survival after a hip fracture in elderly people.
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DSB: Managing Methotrexate Toxicity (Best of 2015: #1)
Methotrexate was first introduced in 1955 for leukemia and in 1986 became FDA approved for the treatment of adults with severe, active, rheumatoid arthritis or children with active polyarticular-course juvenile RA.
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2015 ACR RA Guidelines Released– Finally! (Best of 2015: #2)
ACR 2015 RA treatment guidelines were published yesterday, nearly a year after they were preliminarily presented at the 2014 ACR meeting in Boston. After a year of review and revision these have been posted.
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The History of Citrullination (Best of 2015)
1998 marked the introduction of citrulline as a unique target in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis. The hallmark article by Schellekens et al in the Journal of Clinical Investigation has since been cited over 500 times. Dr.
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How I Choose Biologics (Best of 2015)
Clinical decision-making, occurring at the intersection of the ’art’ and the ’science’ of medicine, remains enigmatic and controversial.
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The Nine Lives of Hydroxychloroquine (Best of 2015)
Hydroxychloroquine is one of many medications frequently used in rheumatology practice.
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Alcohol and Methotrexate - What Do You Advise? (Best of 2015: #9)
What are your rules on methotrexate and alcohol use? How about casual, social or occasional alcohol use? If one alcoholic beverage is ok, what about 2, 3 or six while taking MTX?
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Chikungunya Spread Continues (Best of 2015)
The spread of the viral infection Chikungunya continues with the CDC issuing a travel advisory for those traveling to Mexico, where over 7000 cases of the viral infection have been reported.
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DAS28-CRP or DAS28-ESR: Are they Biosimilar? (Best of 2015)
The disease activity score (DAS28) has been developed as a dynamic assessment tool and a therapeutic response measure for use in clinical trials and practice.
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Will the Balance of JAK inhibition Yield Better Outcomes? Results of New JAK inhibitor - Peficitinib
Researchers from Keio University have published their results using novel JAK inhibitor peficitinib (ASP015K) as a monotherapy in moderate to severe RA patients.
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Predicting and Preventing Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatologists and physicians are commonly asked, "what can I do to avoid rheumatoid arthritis?" This is usually a concern for family members of those affected by RA.
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Bariatric Surgery Improves Rheumatoid Arthritis Outcomes
Obesity is a modest risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) onset. More importantly, obese patients have significanty lower treatment responses to DMARDs and biologics, making them harder to treat than your average RA patient.
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Herpes Zoster Increases the Risk of Stroke and MI
At the 2015 ACR annual meeting in San Francisco, Len Calabrese, DO, of the Cleveland Clinic, gave a plenary session talk linking "shingles" infection to an increased risk of CVA (
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Can Gout and Rheumatoid Arthritis Coexist?
German investigators studied 100 RA patients with a uric acid > 6 mg/dl and assessed them for MSU crystal deposit with dual energy computed tomography (DECT) of both feet and hands.
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RA Guidelines, Methotrexate and Mortal Risks in Gout: November 2015 top social media news
Here's what you may have missed: in November 2015, RheumNow published 80 tweets on news, research and teaching points that impact the rheumatology community. We had a reach (impressions) of 79,100, 79 mentions, and over 3399 visits to RheumNow.com to check out what we publish.
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DRIVE Trial: Denosumab and Methotrexate Prevent Joint Erosions
Joint erosions in RA result from a complex process with multiple contributing mechanisms. One of those mechanisms involves RANK receptor activation by RANKL leading to osteoclast differentiation, activation and survival.
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Azathioprine Adverse Events Associated with TPMT Polymorphisms
Azathioprine (AZA) is widely used in the treatment of several autoimmune diseases. Its use and optimal dosing may be limited by adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Thiopurine S-methyltransferase (TPMT) is an important enzyme involved in AZA metabolism.
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