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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
Tocilizumab in Pregnancy
Tocilizumab is currently listed as a Category "C" pregnancy risk based on limited pre-clinical (animal) data that was negative.
Read ArticlePregnancy Complications in Primary Sjogren's
Sjogren's syndrome is a highly prevalent disorder, affecting women ten times more frequently than men. Although the typical onset follows menopause, a minority of women may develop primary Sjogren’s syndrome (pSS) during child-bearing years.
Read ArticleApril-May 2016 Top Social Media News
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.
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Biologics Are Safe When Used During Pregnancy in IBD
This is a reposting of an earlier report on RheumNow that includes additional commentary from Dr. Sunada Kane, a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic who specializes in both inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and pregnancy.
Read ArticleMMWR Update on Zika Virus: 116 US Cases Related to Travel
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that in the last year (January 2015 to February 2016), they have identified and confirmed 116 cases of the Zika virus among US residents, with nearly all having traveled to endemic regions.
Read ArticlePregnancies are Adversely Affected Even Before the Diagnosis of Lupus
Arkema and colleagues assessed maternal and fetal outcomes in patients with SLE, pre-clinical (prior to onset) SLE and prevalent maternal SLE during pregnancy compared with the general population.
Read ArticleRWCS 2016 – Periodic Fever and Macrophage Activation Syndrome + Pregnancy in IBD
Pregnancy and Immune Modulating Therapies
Read ArticleIncreased Congenital Anomalies in Children from Women with a Juvenile Arthritis History
A Quebec administrative claims analysis examined the birth outcomes of women with a history of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) who subsequently had a first-time birth (between 1983-2010).
Read ArticleNo Significant Increased Risk with TNF Inhibitors During Pregnancy
A population-based study of 1,272,424 live-born infants from Denmark and Sweden examined the prevalence of birth defects among infants born to 683 women with chronic inflammatory disease (inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, or psoriasis)
Read ArticleBSR Issues DMARD Prescribing Guidelines for Pregnancy
Treatment paradigms for managing pregnancy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been challenged in recent years with the introduction of new agents and reclassification of drug safety during pregnancy by the FDA.
Read ArticleIncreased Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes in Ankylosing Spondylitis
Although ankylosing spondylitis affects a predominantly male population, the ratio of men to women has declined from 9-10:1 in earlier studies to more recent estimates of 2-3:1 (F:M).
Read ArticleChanging Patterns of Drug Use in Pregnant Rheumatic Patients: Steroids Down, Biologics Up
Desai and coworkers analyzed public and private insurance claims data (2001-2012) to assess patterns of drug use in pregnant woment with RA, SLE, PsA and AS. Specifically, they looked at immunosuppressive drug use in the 3 months preceding and during pregnancy.
Read ArticleFertility in RA Linked to Disease Activity, NSAIDs and Prednisone
Brouwer and colleagues from the University Medical Center Rotterdam in The Netherlands have studied the issue of infertility in a cohort of RA patients followed prospectively.
Read ArticleDSB: ACR 2015 Safety Reports
The following is a compilation of abstracts presented at the 2015 Annual ACR meeting in San Francisco. These were chosen on the basis of impact, quality and safety message.
Read ArticleConcern Still Lingers for Silicone Breast Implants
What do you tell your patients who are considering augmentation mammoplasty? Or who question the safety of prior implants?
Read ArticleInfertility in Rheumatoid Arthritis Linked to Disease Activity
Women with rheumatoid arthritis are said to have a normal number of pregnancies. However, most of these are conceived prior to the onset of RA. Once diagnosed, the RA patient who wishes to become pregnant may be faced with difficult medication choices if she is planning to become pregnant.
Read ArticleAngiogenic Biomarkers Predict Adverse Outcomes Pregnancies in Lupus
The PROMISSE (Predictors of Pregnancy Outcome: Biomarkers in Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) study has revealed several important lessons in lupus care.
Read ArticlePLLR - The Pregnancy & Lactation Labeling Rule Explained
A recent article from Healio.com reviewed the FDA’s Pregnancy and Lactation Labeling Rule (PLLR) that became effective June 30th.
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