RA and Cardiac Co-Morbidities

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We know that cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in RA and that traditional risk factors do not fully account for increased risk.

Complementopathies: Redefining Old Diseases

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From Dr. Michelle Petri’s lecture on Antiphospholipid Syndrome Updates at ACR17 Review Course on Saturday, I learned that there is now a new class of diseases called the complementopathies.  This was the first time I heard of this term; how many patients did I misdiagnose who really had this and what are the ICD10 codes?!

The Red Eye in the Rheumatology Patient

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Professor Rosenbaum is well known for his expertise in rheumatic eye disease and he gave a great summary of how to approach your patient having a red eye.

Reactive Arthritis

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Prof Robert Inman gave a great summary of the state of the art in reactive arthritis (ReA).

Key Takeaways from ACR Review Course

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The ACR Review Course was superb once again from top to bottom, from Blue Fingers to Practical Treatment of RA. Every year I wonder if I should skip it, but each year I go. And I have never regretted it. Here are my take-home messages and “pearls” from the ACR Review Course.

BMS Featured Presentations from ACR 2017

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Bristol-Myers Squibb Company confirmed that 34 abstracts related to ORENCIA® (abatacept) and the Company’s immunoscience pipeline will be presented at the 2017 American College of Rheumatology and Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals Annual Meeting, November 3-8, 2017, in San Diego.

Abbvie's Robust ACR Presentations

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AbbVie announced that data from 38 abstracts of HUMIRA® (adalimumab) and the company's portfolio of investigational immunology medicines will be presented at the 2017 American College of Rheumatology (ACR)/Association for Rheumatology Health Professionals (ARHP) Annual Meeting, November 3-8, in S

CALM Study: Tight Control with Anti-TNF Wins in Crohn's Disease

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Not unlike rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory disorders, therapeutic efficacy in Crohn's disease (CD) is often assessed clinically. There is growing use and interest in biomarkers of intestinal inflammation, such as faecal calprotectin and C-reactive protein.

High Volume Lyme Disease Reporting in Low Incidence Arkansas

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Even though Arkansas lies on the edge of the geographic range of the principal Lyme disease tick vector, Ixodes scapularis, the risk for Lyme infection is low, and no confirmed Lyme disease cases were reported in Arkansas during 2008–2014 (1)

CDC Endorses New Shingles Vaccine Over Zostavax

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The  U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced on 25 October they endorsed the use of the new GSK shingles vaccine (Shingrix) over the currently available live-virus vaccine (Zostavax) from Merck. 

The Greatest Rheumatologist - Part II

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Wow! I hope you read part I of yesterday's “Greatest Rheumatologist” article.  So many big names and yet, other names and stories that were equally inspirational.

If you read the comments of the part I article you can clearly see several themes emerge.

RABBIT Risk Scores are Higher in ICU-Admitted RA Patients

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The German Rheumatoid Arthritis Biologics Registry (RABBIT) has developed an infectious risk calculator that can project a patient's risk of serious infection in the next 6 months based on several key factors - age, Prior DMARDs, prednisone dose, comorbidities and the biologic intended for use.&n

Does Birth Control or Breastfeeding Reduce RA Risk?

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 Researchers have reported their case-control study using the Swedish Epidemiological Investigation of RA study (2641 cases/4251 controls) to examine  the influence of oral contraceptive (OC) use or breastfeeding on the risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). 

The Greatest Rheumatologist - Part I

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Who is the greatest rheumatologist? What makes for a great rheum? Is it clinical acumen, scientific achievement, educational prowess or years of unrivaled service or mentoring? Rheumatologists are quite opinionated on this subject and very nostalgic about their mentors and leaders. When I’ve posed this question in small groups, it’s plain to see how moved they become when discussing mentors or peers who influenced them. Thus, I posed this question to many of our leaders and mentors: who do you think of as the greatest rheumatologist?

ICYMI: The Greatest Rheumatologist - Part I

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Who is the greatest rheumatologist? What makes for a great rheum? Is it clinical acumen, scientific achievement, educational prowess or years of unrivaled service or mentoring? Rheumatologists are quite opinionated on this subject and very nostalgic about their mentors and leaders. When I’ve posed this question in small groups, it’s plain to see how moved they become when discussing mentors or peers who influenced them. Thus, I posed this question to many of our leaders and mentors: who do you think of as the greatest rheumatologist?

Top 16 Drugs in Rheumatology 2016

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Using data compiled from annual reports, SEC filings, press releases, company websites, recently released sales figures show that in 2016, 11 of the top 16 rheumatology drugs demonstrated blockbuster sales (>$1 billion per annum).  Highlights from this report include:

Biosimilars Projected to Yield $54 Billion in Savings

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A primary projected advantage to biosimilar drugs development has been cost savings. A new study from the RAND Corporation suggests biosimilars could cut health care spending in the United States by $54 billion over the next decade. This number is nearly 20 percent greater than a similar study conducted three years ago by the same researchers. 

Rheumatologists are Slow to Change DMARDs

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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. 

Novel Gel Drug Delivery Developed for Rheumatoid Arthritis

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Scientists at the Institute for Basic Science have invented a hydrogel capable of delivering drug at sites of inflammation in disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis.

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

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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.