Today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved baricitinib (Oluminant) at the lower dose of 2 mg per day for use in adults with with moderate-to-severe active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have had an inadequate response to commonly-used treatments known as TNF inhibitors.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews this weeks reports from RheumNow.com, including the risk of autoimmunity with vaccination, early RA outcomes, new FDA approvals for certolizumab and tofacitinib and the risk of death from infection with biologics.

A meta-analysis has suggested that obesity is an under-reported predictor of inferior response to tumor necrosis factor blockade (anti-TNF) in a range of inflammatory immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs), with the results showing a 60% risk of impaired response to anti-TNF across several

Canadian researchers have analyzed population data and shown that the incidence and prevalence of depression, anxiety  and bipolar disorders are elevated in the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients compared to a matched population.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com.  He discusses opioids, new approval for polyarticular JIA, running and osteoarthritis, and modifiable behaviors that influence outcomes. 

Treat-to-target strategy is widely advocated as an important means of optimizing treatment responses in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Even though T2T is encouraged by most guidelines, a current report shows that US Rheumatologists fail to implement T2T in their daily practice.

Researchers at University of California San Diego School and the Icahn School of Medicine have found a high-resolution epigenomic landscape of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) that overlaps with that seen in Huntington's disease, suggesting potentially new unanticipated pathways that could be devel

A population based study from southern Denmark finds excess mortality RF-positive males with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and that employment status and comorbidity were independent predictors of mortality.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights, news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who had previously had an inadequate response to one biologic agent remained on tocilizumab (Actemra) longer than on a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor, whether or not conventional disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) were given concomitantl

A report in Endocrine Practice shows that drug holidays from bisphosphonates results in a 15% risk of fractures.  (Citation source: 

Dr. Jack Cush discusses the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com.

Many topical and OTC products are recommended when treating chronic dry eyes, including omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil or n−3 fatty acids) to relieve symptoms; the NEJM reports that the DREAM trial shows no clinical benefit of n−3 fatty acids for 12 months when compared to placebo.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a new report showing that from 2004 to 2016, the number of Americans infected by mosquitoes, ticks or fleas tripled from 27,388 in 2004, to 96,075 in 2016. 

From 2015 to 2016, these infections rose by 73 percent. This included new Zika and chikungunya virus infections, (41,680 in 2016), followed by Lyme disease (36,429 cases). This may be an underestimation as as many infections are not reported.

A study from the Veterans Affairs clinics and the National Data Bank of Rheumatic Diseases shows that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who were severely obese had a greater risk of progressive disability compared to overweight patients; that was not explained by their arthritis or inflammation.

Should celecoxib (Celebrex) be officially declared as no riskier for the heart than other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) naproxen and ibuprofen, and do those other NSAIDs interfere with aspirin for cardiovascular prevention?

On Monday, April 23rd the FDA convened the Arthritis Advisory Committee (AAC) to evaluate Lilly’s resubmitted NDA for the approval of the JAK inhibitor baricitinib for use in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

FDA staff remain worried about the safety of baricitinib, an oral JAK inhibitor intended for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, according to briefing documents prepared for an advisory committee meeting on Monday.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com.  A second life for Syk kinase, Vitamin D talk, VTE, regulatory hearings and the Lupus clinic edge.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) has published new research on the mechanistic link between the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) "shared epitope" (SE) risk alleles and environmental triggers such as cigarette smoke that leads to joint inflammation and bony destruction.