Today during the comorbidities in RA session, Dr. Leonard Calabrese spoke about herpes zoster (HZ).

The current Lancet edition for 10 June 2017 is a rheumatology rich collection.  

On Monday June 11th, the US Supreme Court unanimously ruled that biosimilar manufacturers can bring their drugs to market faster by eliminating the provision that the biosimar manufacturer had to give the innovator company 180 days notice before launching the new biosimilar.

Subcutaneous (SC) abatacept (Orencia) is now available for use in patients 2 years of age and older with moderately to severely active polyarticular Juvenile Idiopathic (JIA) according to Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Vaccinating our rheumatoid arthritis patients against influenza every year is a safety priorty. However immunosuppressive therapies pose a challenge to vaccine administration as their use can hamper vaccine immunogenicity.

Drs. Kremer and Weinblatt have responded to a recent Annals of Rheumatic Disease article regarding the hepatic risks of alcohol use with methotrexate (MTX) therapy authored by Humphries et al. (Citation source: http://buff.ly/2r70uuz)

The American College of Rheumatology has updated its 2010 guideline for the prevention and treatment of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis. The guideline provides recommendations on assessing fracture risk and treatment for adults and special patient populations, including women of childbearing potential, adults treated with very high-dose glucocorticoids, adults with organ transplants, and children ages 4-17.

AbbVie released the preliminary results of a rheumatoid arthritis trial wherein its Jak inhibitor, upadacitinib, was tested against placebo, and shown to be superior in established RA patients who have failed prior DMARD therapy.

Manpower in rheumatology is about to be a major problem for the next several decades: not enough trainees, a "tsunami of retiring older white rheumatologists", and an aging baby-boomer, arthritis-primed population will strain current resources and manpower.  Moreover, necessary services will not likely be available to those in need and there may be a significant maldistribution of adequate rheumatologic care.

Biosimilars continue to command a great deal of research, development and attention given the promise of significant cost savings and potentially wider use for those in need. Biosimilar Reports is an ongoing series dedicated to advances, discussions and developments in biosimilar agents intended for use by rheumatologists. 

The Journal of the American Geriatric Society has reported that older women receiving bisphosphonate therapy for greater than 10-13 years were more likely to suffer from fractures.

Kimme L. Hyrich, MD, PhD, of the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, and colleagues point out that because of the lack of consensus in diagnostic criteria, "the same child could be classified as 'in clinically inactive disease' or having active disease at the same time point between clinicians or hospitals."

Treatment options for children with active polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (polyJIA) have lagged behind that seen with adult rheumatoid arthritis.

Stepping up to biologic therapy when methotrexate (MTX) monotherapy fails was not shown to be cost effective, compared to first trying triple therapy, in a rheumatoid arthritis (RA) study published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Dai, Felson and colleagues report in Annals of Rheumatic Disease that high dietary fiber lowers the risk of symptomatic osteoathritis (SxOA), but the radiographic benefits remain unclear. (Citation source http://buff.ly/2rHv9yd)

Dr. Jack Cush Reviews highlights from the past week on RheumNow.com:

The FDA has approved sarilumab (Kevzara), a new IL-6 inhibitor co-developed by Regeneron and Sanofi's, for use in adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Reuters reports that FDA approval of romosozumab (brand name Evenity) may be held up because of higher rates of cardiac events seen in a late-stage clinical trial.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights and updates from the past week on RheumNow.com:

The DANBIO registrys has demonstrated that switching from infliximab (Remicade) to biosimilar CT-P13 (Inflectra in the U.S., Remsima in Europe) does not appear to have any negative effect on inflammatory arthritis disease activity, Danish researchers reported.