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RheumNow Week in Review – 22 July 2016
From tofacitinib developmental trials in RA and psoriasis and adherence to T2T in early RA to a rheumatology pearl about dapsone and much more, here are the highlights of what you may have missed on RheumNow.com this week.
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DEXA Still Needed While on Bisphosphonates
Reuters reports that a study of 6629 Canadian women with osteoporosis taking bisphosphonates found that nearly one in five had a decrease in bone density while on medication. (Citation source: http://buff.ly/2afb7nj)
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SAPHO Syndrome Revisted
SAPHO is an acronym that describes a constellation of findings (synovitis, acne, pustulosis, hyperostosis, and osteitis) that defines this rare syndrome.
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ORBIT Study Shows Rituximab is Non-Inferior to TNF Inhibitors in Biologic Naive Patients
Porter and colleagues have reported that both rituximab (RTX) and tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) are equally and highly effective in early, active, biologic-naive rheumatoid arthritis patients.
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Increaed GI Perforations with Tocilizumab Seen in German Registry Analysis
The issue of lower intestinal tract perforation (LIP) is no novelty to rheumatologists since the RA treatment paradigm shifted from use of NSAIDs (the most common cause of upper GI tract perforations) to steroids and non-steroidal DMARDs.
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Sandoz Etanercept Biosimilar Voted for Approval by FDA Arthritis Advisory Committee
The Food and Drug Administration’s Arthritis Advisory Committee (AAC) yesterday recommended that the Sandoz etanercept (Enbrel) biosimilar (GP-2015) be approved for use in the United States.
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FDA Arthritis Advisory Committee Recommends Approval of Adalimumab Biosimilar
The Food and Drug Administration’s Arthritis Advisory Committee yesterday recommended that Amgen biosimilar (ABP 501) to Humira (adalimumab) be approved for use in the United States.
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FDA Says Cryotherapy Lacks Evidence, Poses Risks
Cryotherapy is a non-FDA approved treatment that has been promoted to treat post-athletic injury, osteoarthritis,rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, alzheimers, migraines, asthma, multiple sclerosis, etc. Cryotherapy may be as simple as ice packs on a localized portion of the body, such as the lower back, or may involve whole body cryotherapy.
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Sclerostin Inhibition May Worsen Rheumatoid Arthritis
Sclerostin, an inhibitor of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, negatively regulates osteoblast differentiation and has anti-anabolic effects on bone formation. Thus, inhibition of sclerostin is currently being studied as therapy for postmenopausal osteoporosis.
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Patient Reluctance to Take Bisphosphonates
The NY Times reports that millions of Americans with osteoporosis are driven to stop or not take bisphosphonate therapies over the fear of exceedingly rare side effects - osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) and atypical femoral fractures (AFF).
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faSScinate Study Shows Tocilizumab to be Effective in Systemic Sclerosis
The results of the faSScinate trial were published in Lancet showing that treatment with Actemra (tocilizumab) resulted in a reduction in skin thickness and an improvement in lung function in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).
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Early DMARD Therapy Averts Cardiovascular Risk in RA
A Finnish early RA register studied 14,878 incident RA patients from 2000-2008 and identified 1157 deaths. Patients receiving DMARDs and MTX had lower mortality rates. The standardized mortality ratio for the entire cohort was reduced (0.57, 95% CI 0.52 to 0.62).
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10 Ways Rheumatoid Arthritis Could’ve Killed Glenn Frey
I was truly stunned when it was announced that Glenn Frey, from the Eagles, had died as a result of complications from his rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis and pneumonia.
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Adalimumab Approved for Uveitis
Autoimmune ophthalmic disease is a frequent challenge to rheumatologists from both a diagnostic and therapeutic perspective. Approved therapies are limited and have only been infrequently or comfortably utilized by rheumatologists and autoimmune ophthalmologists.
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RheumNow Week in Review – 1 July 2016
Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights from the news and social media in the past week on RheumNow.com
Checkpoint Inhibitors Causing Arthritis
A recent report from Johns Hopkins, published in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases, describes 13 cancer patients treated with the immune checkpoint inhibitors, ipilimumab or nivolumab, who developed inflammatory arthritis and sicca syndrome.
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Tocilizumab in Pregnancy
Tocilizumab is currently listed as a Category "C" pregnancy risk based on limited pre-clinical (animal) data that was negative.
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Cancer Risk Lower with TNF inhibitors in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Since the introduction of TNF inhibitors nearly 20 years ago, concerns over a potential associated cancer risk have abounded. The recent ACR RA treatment guidelines have addressed this recently, stating that patients with any solid tumor cancer or risk thereof should be treated as if they ha
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Biologics and Fatigue in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Researchers from Bristol, UK have published a Cochrane review studying the effects of biologic therapies on fatigue.
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RheumNow Week in Review – 24 June 2016
Dr. Cush reviews highlights published this week at RheumNow.com.
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