Cannabis Laws Lessen the Opioid Crisis

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Three reports from JAMA Internal Medicine demonstrate favorable trends with less opioid use when cannabis became legal.

Unmet Needs in Calcium Pyrophosphate Deposition Disease

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Abhishek et al have written on the results of an international survey of crystal arthritis experts and identified the unmet needs  regarding calcium pyrophosphate crystal deposition (CPPD) - research, classification, diagnosis and management.

The RheumNow Week in Review -30 March 2018

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com. News on drug regulatory decisions, fenofibrate and gout, Still's disease, TB and infection rates, SpA and hidradenitis suppurativa, and predicting methotrexate non-responders.

NHANES: Trends in Calcium Supplements

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The journal Bone reports that given excess calcium intake may not be entirely free from unintended health consequences, it's important to undestand trends in calcium supplement use. 

Precision Genetics Can Predict Methotrexate Non-Responders

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Investigators from Glasgow and Oxford have identified changes in genomic architecture, represented by a chromosome conformation signature, that can predict nonresponse to methotrexate in early rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Recognizing that studies show 35–59% of RA patients do not achieve clinically meaningful responses after starting MTX, they sought to identify a pattern of genetic changes in 59 early RA patients that would predict poor responses to MTX therapy.

2 Weeks Off Methotrexate OK for Flu Vaccine

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Stopping methotrexate for 2 weeks after the administration of flu vaccine led to improved immunogenicity without increasing disease activity among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a prospective Korean study showed.

FIELD Study: Fenofibrate Reduces Uric Acid and Gout Risk

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Lancet reports the results of the FIELD (Fenofibrate Intervention and Event Lowering in Diabetes) study - where fenofibrate was shown to reduce uric acid by 20%, gout events by nearly 50% and may be useful in preventing gout in diabetes. 

Anakinra May Attenuate Stroke Outcomes

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The journal Stroke has published a trial wherein the use of subcutaneous IL-1Ra (anakinra) was shown to reduce the peripheral inflammatory response in those with an acute ischemic stroke.

The RheumNow Week in Review - 23 March 2018

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the highlights from the news, journals and major meetings. New announcements and approval from the FDA; novel associations between ANCA vasculitis and thyroid disease; flare rates after arthroplasty; and pregnancy outcomes for men and women.

Risk of Paternal Exposure to Anti-Rheumatic Drugs

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Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism features a review of the effects of paternal use of antirheumatic drugs on pregnancy, specifically addressing the effects of NSAIDs, steroids, DMARDs and biologics on spermatogenesis and the effect on pregnancy outcomes and offspring.

mTOR Inhibition with Sirolimus Effective in Lupus

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Lancet reports that 12 months of sirolimus treatment is associated with improvement in lupus disease activity presumeably by correction of pro-inflammatory T-cell activity.

Novel Approach to Knee Osteoarthritis Pain

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Geniculate artery embolization was found to dampen knee pain arising from osteoarthritis, according to interim study results presented at the 2018 annual meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology.

Time to Rethink Gout as a Chronic Disease

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The current issue of JAMA has a perspective article on Gout’s bad rap as dietary disease rather than the complex, chronic inflammatory disorder that is ineffectively treated in many. 

Using Synovial Tissue Biopsies to Develop Precision Medicine for Rheumatoid Arthritis

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Researchers at Northwestern University have used ultrasound-guided tissue biopsy from the joints to analyze the genes of tissue macrophages with the hope that transcriptional profiling of synovial macrophages may be correlated with clinical parameters or drug responsiveness in rheumatoi

Repeat Malignancy Unlikely with Biologic Therapy

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Research from the Danish biologics registry shows that the use of a biologic in patients with a history of a primary cancer does not increase the risk of a second malignant neoplasm (SMN) or mortality in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

The RheumNow Week in Review - 16 March 2018

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the highlights from the news, journals and major meetings. Bigtime rheumatologic lessons with tales from intestinal crypts, the friendly skies & the hips of hockey players. Also the microbiome and lupus, benefits of ENT findings with GPA and rare risk of opportunistic infections with biologics.

Opportunistic Infections in RA Rare with Biologics

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The British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register for Rheumatoid Arthritis has studied nearly 20,000 patients and observed that there is no substantially different risk of opportunistic infections between different biologics. 

CARES Study- More CV Deaths with Febuxostat

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The CARES study was presented Monday at the American College of Cardiology meeting in Orlando and finds that while the rates of all major cardiovascular (CV) events were comparable between febuxostat or allopurinol, there were more CV deaths with febuxostat.

The RheumNow Week in Review - 9 March 2018

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights, news and recent research published this past week on RheumNow.com. This week's report includes news on new regulatory changes, new indication for tofacitinib, the rise and deficits of opioids and the benefits of fish and bariatric surgery.

FDA Panel Votes to Favor High Dose Xeljanz in Ulcerative Colitis

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Yesterday a FDA advisory panel voted 15-0 in favor of approving Xeljanz (tofacitinib) 10 mg bid for patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis.