All News
Are We Using Methotrexate Appropriately?
Methotrexate is a mainstay drug in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Yet, we may not be using it long enough or optimizing its use.
Read Article
Improving Cardiovascular Trends in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Myasoedova and colleagues from the Mayo Clinic have reported their new data that demonstrates improving cardiovascular (CV) mortality rates in current RA patients treated with modern drugs.
Read Article
2015 ACR RA Guidelines Released– Finally!
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.
Read Article
Invokana Decreases Autoimmune Risk
In September, the FDA issued warnings that the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) inihibitor Invokana may cause a dose-dependant increased risk of bone fractures. This was based on a review of nin
Read Article
Biosimilars and the FDA
Biosimilars are in the news and will be prominently on parade at next week's ACR meeting in San Francisco. Biosimilars are similar to, but not the same as, innovator biologics.
Read Article
Increasing Risk of Septic Arthritis with Age
A retrospective population-based study from New Zealand examined the epidemiology, clinical features, and microbiology of adult native joint septic arthritis.
Read Article
Repeat Skin Cancer Risk with Methotrexate and Biologics
Using Medicare claims data, a retrospective cohort study analyzed the risk of a second non-melanomatous skin cancer (NMSC) in 9460 individuals (6841 with RA and 2788 with IBD).
Read Article
Study Backs CellCept for ILD in Scleroderma
MONTREAL -- An immunosuppressive drug was as effective as a standard agent for interstitial lung disease (ILD) associated with scleroderma, a researcher said.
Read Article
MMP-3 Levels Predict Radiographic Progression in RA
Continuously elevated serum matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) for 3-6 months predicted 1-year radiographic progression in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a small prospective cohort study in Arthritis Researc
Read Article
Adalimumab Induction in Early RA Yields Erosive Benefits in the OPERA Study
A number of studies have shown that the treat-to-target approach is effective in achieving clinical remission - the ultimate therapeutic goal in patients with early RA.
Read Article
Bronchiectasis Contributes to Activity and Seropositivity in Rheumatoid Arthritis
UK investigators have shown that rheumatoid arthritis patients with bronchiectasis (BRRA) have a five-fold increased mortality compared to RA without bronchiectasis. It is unclear if serologic differences, activity measures and biomarkers may be different in this cohort.
Read Article
Respiratory and Cardiovascular Mortality Higher in RA Women
Using data from the Nurses' Health Study (NHS), Sparks and colleagues analyzed 119,209 women beginning in 1976. The identified 964 incident RA cases and 28,808 deaths during 36 years of prospective follow-up.
Read Article
Diet, Exercise and Glucosamine Fail to Prevent Knee Osteoarthritis
Primary prevention of osteoarthritis is an ideal goal for which there has been little success in clinical trials.
Read Article
Infertility in Rheumatoid Arthritis Linked to Disease Activity
Women with rheumatoid arthritis are said to have a normal number of pregnancies. However, most of these are conceived prior to the onset of RA. Once diagnosed, the RA patient who wishes to become pregnant may be faced with difficult medication choices if she is planning to become pregnant.
Read Article
Is DLCO Predictive in Rheumatoid Interstitial Lung Disease?
Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a common extra-articular manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Its presence may portend grave outcomes for those affected. The prevalence of ILD in RA ranges from 7.7% to 44% depending on the assessment tools used.
Read Article
Optimizing Treat-to-Target in RA
Treat-to-target is a common management strategy for rheumatoid arthritis that aims to employ the strategy most effective in terms of achievement of optimal therapeutic outcomes in RA.
Read Article
Hip Fractures Increased in Rheumatoid Arthritis
An analysis of 741,589 patients over age 45 years from southern Swedish registry examined patients who were followed (between 1998 and 2012) until a hip fracture, death or exit from the region occurred.
Read Article
High Sodium Intake Linked to Risk of RA
Diet has long been considered a potential risk factor for the onset or pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthris. Obesity and the microbiome are being intensively studied as risk factors for RA.
Read Article
Rheumatoid Arthritis Associated with More Severe Acute Coronary Syndromes and Outcomes
Acute coronary syndromes (ACSs), myocardial infarctions and heart failure appear to be a hazardous consequence to systemic and articular inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis.
Read Article
Dr. Woodcock Gives Senate FDA Update on Biosimilars
Biologics have been a great advance in therapeutics, but at great cost. Although biologics account for less than 1% of all prescriptions in the USA, they account for 28% percent of the cost of prescribed medications.
Read Article