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MTX + Pegloticase Combo FDA Approved
Horizon has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the expanded labeling of pegloticase (Krystexxa) injection to be co-administered with methotrexate (MTX), to improve response rates in patients with uncontrolled gout.
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ICYMI: 2021 Rheumatology Year in Review
For 2022, let's look our top 10 list of advances, game-changers, worries and those better medical practices that evolved during 2021.
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ICYMI: Adalimumab Addition vs. Methotrexate Escalation in Psoriatic Arthritis
An interesting study in Lancet Rheumatology shows that psoriatic arthritis patients not responding to methotrexate alone can respond after adding or escalating adalimumab on top of methotrexate to reach minimal disease activity (MDA) response.
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ICYMI: Drug Survival Differences in RA, PsA, SpA and PsO
Drug survival may be the best measure of efficacy and safety. A study of novel therapy durability (survival) in patients with RA, axial spondyloarthritis, PsA, and psoriasis shows that while all these drugs are approved for said conditions, drug survival varies by condition, suggesting an ongoing need for individualized treatment.
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ICYMI: Allopurinol Safety in CKD Patients
A study in the Annals of Internal Medicine reports chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients can be safely treated with allopurinol without an increased risk of mortality.
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Novel Anti-TNF Shines in Rheumatoid Arthritis Trial
A new way of inhibiting tumor necrosis factor (TNF) for treating rheumatoid arthritis showed strong results in a phase II/III clinical trial, researchers said.
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Placebo Works Best in Combination
Analysis of two large clinical trial datasets shows that placebo response rates in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of patients with rheumatoid arthritis are better when the patient continued background methotrexate (MTX).
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New Updated GRAPPA Psoriatic Arthritis Recommendations
The GRAPPA (Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis) treatment recommendations have been updated and the 2021 evidence-based guidance is rich in treatment recommendations based on the key disease "domains" - peripheral arthritis, axial disease, enthesitis, dactylitis, skin and nail psoriasis; with new PsA related domains uveitis and inflammatory bowel disease.
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HCQ for RA: Not a Great Idea?
Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) appeared less safe from a cardiovascular standpoint than methotrexate in older patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), analysis of Medicare data indicated.
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Are You Wasting Money on Supplements or Vitamins?
The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has updated its recommendations regarding the efficacy of supplements or multivitamins for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mortality in the general adult population.
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Inferior IL-17 Inhibitor Responses in Psoriatic Women
Pooled data from two large ixekizumab (IXE) trials show that male patients had greater clinical responses than did female patients with psoriatic arthritis are largely unexplored. Reasons for this differential treatment responses to an interleukin-17A inhibitor (IXE) between male and female patients is unexplained.
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Two Week Methotrexate Hold with COVID-19 Vaccination
A cohort study of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients evaluated immunogenicity of COVID vaccination with and without holding methotrexate (MTX) for and 2-weeks and showed better immunogenicity, but more RA flares with the second MTX withdrawal.
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Bimekizumab Safety in Psoriasis Patients
A pooled analyses of data from eight, phase 2 and 3 randomized clinical trials shows bimekizumab, a dual IL-17A/F inhibitor, to be effective in plaque psoriasis and was well tolerated aside from an increased incidence of mild to moderate oral candidiasis.
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Not All RA Drug Classes Are Created Equal
Clear differences were apparent among the three major types of targeted medications for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a large European registry study.
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Is Pain Control by Cannabis an Option?
An Annals of Internal Medicine review has shown that clinical trials and cohort studies of cannabinoids use for chronic pain may be associated with short-term improvements in chronic pain but come with an increased risk for dizziness and sedation.
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BSR Guideline for Psoriatic Arthritis - 2022 Update
The British Society of Rheumatology has published their updated 2022 recommendations for the use of biologics and targeted synthetic treatments in patients with psoriatic arthritis. These guidelines follow initial treatment with a single conventional systemic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug, typically methotrexate typically. They noted that up to 50% of people with PsA require biologic or targeted synthetic (b/ts)DMARD therapy.
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EULAR 2022 Featured Industry Abstracts
Below is a collection of several EULAR 2022 abstracts highlighted in recent press releases from companies sponsoring major clinical trials. You can search the EULAR site for these abstract and others here.
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Giant Cell Arteritis Growing More Lethal
Mortality rates among patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA) in Canada's Ontario province rose by 15% from 2000 to 2018, a new study found, even as the general population saw declines in overall mortality.
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Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Associated Arthritis
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have dramatically improved outcomes in numerous cancers but have been hampered by a growing spectrum of immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Rheumatic complaints may be less frequent than other irAEs associated with ICI in cancer patients.
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Bridge Prednisone Use Fails to Improve Outcomes
A one year, X-ray outcome trial has shown that the initial use of prednisone (high or low dose) in newly treated active early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) did not improve radiographic outcomes.
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