ProDERM Study: IVIG in Dermatomyositis

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The ProDERM study design and outcomes are previewed in Medicine; and as promised the results were revealed at ACR Convergence in November 2020 showing that IVIg is safe, effective and superior to placebo i(PBO) in patients with dermatomyositis (DM).

Rhapsody Study: IL-1 Inhibition in Recurrent Pericarditis

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Recurrent pericarditis is a rare, probable autoinflammatory disorder mediated by interleukin-1 (IL-1); and is often refractory to glucocorticoids and colchicine.

Update on Polymyalgia Rheumatica and Giant Cell Arteritis (Best of 2020)

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JAMA has published a clinical update of recent studies on GCA. While PET/CT scanning are novel means of demonstrating activity, they have not changed the diagnostic approach to GCA or PMR and although there are no new proven treatment strategies for PMR beyond glucocorticoids, the FDA has approved tocilizumab as a first-line glucocorticoid-sparing agent. 

Best of 2020: The COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Registry

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What started out as online tweets and sharing newsfeed and case reports, has progressed to the formation of the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance, whose mission is to create an international rheumatology registry of patients affected by the disease in order to better understand the disease and guide clinicians in assessing and treating patients. 

New Lyme Disease Guidelines

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2020 evidence-based clinical practice guideline for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of Lyme disease was cooperatively developed the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).

Rheumatic Disease and COVID-19: Who Is at Risk?

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Patients with rheumatic and inflammatory diseases who develop COVID-19 share risk factors for severe disease with the larger population, including older age, male sex, obesity, and hypertension, but also are at increased risk if they are on corticosteroids, French investigators reported.

ACR20 - Autoinflammatory & Still's Disease Panel

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This podcast features a discussion of autoinflammatory and Still's disease abstracts from virtual ACR 2020. Dr. Jack Cush is joined by a panel of experts including Drs. Olga Petryna, Bella Metha and Michael Ombrello.

Undifferentiated Autoinflammatory Syndrome Called VEXAS

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Saturday's session on autoinflammatory syndromes featured Dr. Dan Kastner addressing - The Adult with Undifferentiated Autoinflammatory Disease.

ACR20 - Day 3 Report

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Here are my highlights from day three, Sunday, of the ACR 2020 Convergence. 

QD Clinic Podcast - 106 thru 109

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Here is the last of our QD Clinics in Podcast form, just before we start ACR2020 coverage.

In this compilation from the past week we talk about

- HIV and arthritis

- Hyperuricemia in PsA

- An odd kind of dermatomyositis

RheumNow Podcast – ACR 20 is Coming to Town (10.30.20)

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Dr Jack Cush overviews the RheumNow commitment, upcoming bonus coverage of ACR20 and the good news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com

Abatacept in Early Systemic Sclerosis (ASSET study)

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An open-label extension of the ASSET trial (abatacept in diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis) showed continued safety with significant improvements in the modified Rodnan Skin Score (mRSS) at 12 months, suggesting abatacept (ABA) may benefit early systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Immune Necrotizing Myopathy

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A full read review of immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy is portrayed as a distinct subtype of inflammatory myopathies first described in 2004.

RheumNow Podcast – Back Talk: Questions from Listeners (10.23.20)

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news, journal reports, survey results and "Back Talk" questions from Rheums.

ICI Arthritis Tied to Cancer Progression

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Cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) who develop severe arthritis may be at risk for progression of the malignancy, a single-center study suggested.

Biologics Beneficial in Eosinophilic Vasculitis

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Two biologic therapies showed promise in the treatment of refractory or relapsing eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) in a retrospective European study.

2020 Nobel Prize in Medicine Goes to the Discovery of Hepatitis C

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The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice for the discovery of Hepatitis C virus. These three scientists made a decisive contribution to the fight against blood-borne hepatitis C, a major global health problem that causes cirrhosis and liver cancer in people around the world.

RheumNow Podcast – Function Follows Form (10.2.20)

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com. Regulatory approvals, update on global rheumatology alliance, smoking and psoriasis, gabapentin let down and defining difficult RA.

Slow Lung Decline Typical in Systemic Sclerosis

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The interstitial lung disease that develops in a subset of patients with systemic sclerosis tends to be heterogeneous, with the majority of patients experiencing a slow pattern of decline in lung function, analysis of outcomes in the European Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) database foun