Apremilast in DMARD-Naive Psoriatic Arthritis

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Apremilast (Otezla) monotherapy was effective for psoriatic arthritis among patients who had not previously received disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) or biologics, a phase III clinical trial funded by the drug's manufacturer found. 

Defining Refractory Rheumatoid Arthritis

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Dr. Maya Buch from Leeds has a thoughtful Viewpoint article in Annals of Rheumatic Disease on how to consider and manage the refractory or difficult rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patient.

Favorable Certolizumab Safety Profile in Pregnancy

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Clowse and colleagues have published an extensive review of the certolizumab pegol (CZP) in pregnancy database, and found no evidence that CZP has a teratogenic effect or contributes to fetal harm when compared to the general population. 

Uveitis in JIA: Screen All, Treat Early

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A European group of experts has formulated consensus-based recommendations for the treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)-associated uveitis, focusing on screening, monitoring, and treatment of this potentially devastating extra-articular manifestation of JIA.

IL-6 Inhibition Most Effective in Polycyclic Systemic JIA

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The German Autoinflammatory Disease (AID) registry has studied the effects of the IL-6 inhibitor tocilizumab (TCZ) in systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) patients and shown a clinical response rate of 35% during the first 12 weeks, and inactive disease and/or remission (with medication)

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.