FDA Approves Simponi Aria for Psoriatic Arthritis and Ankylosing Spondylitis

Save

Janssen Biotech, Inc. has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved SIMPONI ARIA® (golimumab) the treatment of adults with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) or active ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

Hepatitis A Outbreak in San Diego

Save

On Sept. 1, 2017, the San Diego County declared a local public health emergency due to the ongoing hepatitis A outbreak in the county.

Tofacitinib Scores in TNF inhibitor Resistant Psoriatic Arthritis

Save

Mease et al has reported in the NEJM the results of a phase 3 trial showing tofacitinib (Tofa) to be significantly more effective than placebo in active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients who previously failed to respond to tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) therapies. 

Rheumatologists are Slow to Change DMARDs

Save

The paradigm of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) therapy mandates early diagnosis and aggressive treatment.  Yet a recent cohort study has shown that RA patients with moderate to high disease activity (MHDAS) were met with infrequent DMARD adjustments; with median time to DMARD adjustment being 5 months and median time to low disease activity (LDAS) was roughly 10 months. 

Stelara FDA Approved for Use in Adolescent Psoriasis

Save

Johnson & Johnson has announced that they have received an expanded FDA approval for the use of ustekinumab (Stelara) in treating adolescent patients, aged 12 and over, with moderate to severe plaque psoriais.

High Drug Discontinuations and Nonadherence in Fibromyalgia

Save

Compliance and adherence was shown to be quite poor in fibromyalgia (FM) patients, with high rates of drug discontinuation and greater than 60% demonstrated low adherence.

13 October 2017 The RheumNow Week in Review

Save

The RheumNow Week in Review discusses the past week's news, journal articles and highlights from RheumNow.com. In this week's report, Dr. Jack Cush discusses a novel antiviral drug or the use of stem cell therapy for scleroderma, rituximab in HSP, when to withdraw NSAIDS in RA, and congrats to PAs and NPs!

BSR Guidelines on Lupus Management

Save

In the UK, NICE has accredited the British Society of Rheumatology (BSR) to develop a guidance document on the management of systemic lupus erythematosus in adults.  The last published guidelines for lupus were published in 2008 by EULAR and in 2012 by the ACR.

Zilretta - a New Drug FDA Approved for Osteoarthritis of the Knee

Save

Flexion Therapeutics announced friday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee injectable steroid drug Zilretta with the indication of moderate-to-severe knee pain.

2016 EULAR Guidelines on RA Management

Save

The management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has evolved significantly with time.  Nevertheless, there are still some uncertainties - such as when, what and which biologic or novel therapy should be used.

The RheumNow Week in Review - 6 October 2017

Save

The RheumNow Week in Review discusses the past week's news, journal articles and highlights from RheumNow.com. In this week's report, Dr. Jack Cush discusses when to hold the biologic, lymphoma risk with tofacitinib, early clues to the diagnosis of RA, biologic use in pregnancy, what's killing psoriasis patients and the 2016 top 5, best selling drugs in rheumatology.

Patterns of Biologic Use During Autoimmune Pregnancy

Save

While it is highly desirable to avoid medications during conception and pregnancy, statistics show that >90% of women take at least one drug during pregnancy and nearly half will take 3 or more medications during pregnancy.

IBD Associated with Increased risk of Autoimmune and Inflammatory Diseases

Save

A registry based study has shown higher rates of immune mediated diseases (IMD) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Alcohol Related Deaths Increased in Psoriasis

Save

JAMA Dermatology has published a report showing psoriasis carries a 60% greater risk alcohol-related death compared with those without psoriasis. (Citation source: https://buff.ly/2galDwr)

29 September 2017 The RheumNow Week in Review

Save

The RheumNow Week in Review discusses the past week's news, journal articles and highlights from RheumNow.com. This week's report discusses regulatory actions by NICE and FDA, higher death rates in RA and psoriasis, increased risk of RA with Asthma, rising numbers for OA, RA, and STDs.

Psoriasis Increases Risk of Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events

Save

A report in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology shows that psoriasis duration and inflammation may result in cardiovascular inflammation and an increased risk of major adverse CV events.

Safety of Long-Term PPI Use

Save

The current issue of JAMA reviews the safety of long-term use of proton pump inhibitors (PPI). The following is a collection of the evidence about these purported risks.

Fractures

No Cancer Risk With Biologic Use

Save

A polulation-based study from Sweden has shown that treatment with tocilizumab, abatacept, rituximab, or tumor necrosis factor (TNFi) inhibitors does not affect the risk of malignant neoplasms among patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Specifically, use of a first or second TNFi or biologic DMARDs (bDMARD) does confer a different cancer risk when compared to conventional DMARDS in biologic–naive RA patients.

FDA Panel Backs New Zoster Subunit Vaccine

Save

GlaxoSmithKline has announced that the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted unanimously in support of the efficacy, safety and approval of its herpes zoster subunit (HZ/su) vaccine (called Shingrix) for the prevention of herpes zoster (shingles) in adults ages 50 and over.

Sirukumab Turned Down by FDA

Save

On Friday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that will not approve Johnson & Johnson’s rheumatoid arthritis drug sirukumab, stating further data and study would be needed to establish its safety.