The EULAR Annual European Congress of Rheumatology meeting was held in London from June 8-11, 2016 and was well attended by thousands. This year’s meeting had over 2,000 poster displays, and the EULAR 2016 Congress presented new recommendations on the management of rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthritis, and fibromyalgia.

The impact of systemic glucocorticoid exposure on fracture risk among new-onset rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was studied using administrative claims data detailing the treatments and outcomes of 42,127 newly diagnosed RA patients (between 2005-2012).

The combined analysis of 130,315 rheumatoid arthritis patients from 11 European registries did not reveal an association between invasive (malignant) melanoma and the use of biologic therapies.

Prescription of long-acting opioids for chronic noncancer pain was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality, including deaths from causes other than overdose, compared with anticonvulsants or cyclic antidepressants, according to a study appearing in the June 14 issue of JAMA.

A retrospective observational study of over 6000 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT), followed in the Kaiser-Permanente system, has shown a greater need for parathyroidectomy than was previously thought.

Lancet has published the results of the U-ACT-early study assessing the efficacy of monotherapy versus combination therapy using an interleukin-6 receptor-blocking monoclonal antibody, tocilizumab, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

The results of the PRAIRI study were presented today at EULAR 2016 in London. These early findings suggest that individuals "at-risk" to develop rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may benefit from a short course of intravenously rituximab therapy.

JAMA has reported the results of an 18-year National Inpatient Sample, a database of US non-federal hospitalizations.

Methotrexate , a cornerstone drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, has led to 90 hospitalizations and 7 deaths according to a recent report from the Medical Journal of Australia. 

In April and May 2016, RheumNow sent 82 tweets regarding news, research and teaching points that strongly impacted the rheumatology community and resulted in a reach of 203,500 impressions, with 136 mentions, and over 6378 visits to RheumNow.com. Here are the top tweets from April and May.

This week's highlights from RheumNow.com include:

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).

Tenosynovitis may represent a preclinical phase of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Gastrointestinal perforations (GIP) are not historically believed to be a common or uncommon complication. Hence, when this was noted in the tocilizumab (TCZ) and tofacitinib (TOFA) developmental trials, it was a curious if not perplexing finding.

Dr. Cush reviews highlights from this week on RheumNow.com.

In the last two years there have been increasing reports of mosquito-borne infectious arthritides.  Dengue fever was best known until the introduction of viral infections due to chikungunya and Zika. 

The following is a compilation of several frequently asked questions regarding tuberculosis (TB) testing or treatment in patients on a TNF inhibitor (TNFi) or other biologic agents.

The initial choice of biologic is crucial to long-term success. Yet there are few studies evaluating head-to-head differences in some of our most popular therapies.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews this week's news and research highlights from RheumNow.com.

Morais and colleagues have published an informative review of rheumatologic and musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders that may potentially befall those with benign or malignant blood disorders. It is important to be aware of these associations.