Steroid-Sparing Effect of Tocilizumab in Refractory Takayasu Arteritis

Save

A controlled clinical trial has shown that giving the IL-6 receptor antibody, tocilizumab (TCZ), to  patients with Takayasu arteritis (TAK) results in clinical efficacy and has a steroid sparing efffect.

RheumNow Podcast- The Down Side of Steroids (1.17.20)

Save

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the journal reports and news from RheumNow.com.
Be sure to register for RheumNow Live 3/13/2020 in Fort Worth
Rheumnow.live.

NSAID Safety Guidelines

Save

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used for acute or chronic arthritis, headache, visceral pain, postoperative pain, etc but come with a small but significant risk of serious adverse effects, including hypertension, cardiovascular disease, kidney injury and GI complica

Diabetics using SGLT2 Inhibitors have a lower Gout Risk

Save

Researchers from the Brigham and Women's Hospital have reported that adults with type 2 diabetes who were treated with SGLT2 inhibitors had a lower risk of gout compared to GLP1 agonist, suggesting that sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors may reduce the risk for gout with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Steroids Up the Risk of Organ Damage in SLE

Save

Lancet Rheumatology has reported the results of a multicenter follow-up study of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients showing that organ damange is linked to glucocorticoid use, independent of clinical or serological disease activity.

Best of 2019 - War on RA - Part 3: Useless Drugs

Save

We have options that are endless – we have 28 biologics in rheumatology; 19 approved for RA in the last 20 years, but 15 of these are me-too copies or biosimilars. We currently have 2 JAK inhibitors and may have 3 or 4 by year end. But what we really need is the right drug, at the right time, in the right patient – but how will we know.

Best of 2019 - Methotrexate and the Risk of Lung Disease

Save

Rheumatology has a comprehensive overview of methotrexate (MTX) and the risk of lung injury, MTX-related pneumonitis and interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD) with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Past reports suggest the frequence of MTX-pneumonitis to be between 0.3 and 11.6%; recent studies suggest it may be much lower.

Fewer Lupus Flares on Low Dose Steroids

Save

French researchers have shown that patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and inactive disease are less likely to flare while taking a 5 mg prednisone maintenance dose.

No Cancer Risk with Systemic Necrotizing Vasculitis

Save

The French Vasculitis Study Group has published that patients with systemic necrotizing vasculitis do not have an increased risk of malignancy; in fact they have a risk that is similar to the general population.

Predicting Inpatient Gout Flares

Save

Analysis of New Zealand hospitalized patients revals nine predictors of inpatient flare for people with comorbid gout.

This retrospective cohort study of hospitalised patients with comorbid gout included 625 hospitalised patients, 87 experienced inpatient gout flare.

Short-term Benefit with Prednisolone in Hand Osteoarthritis

Save

Lancet reports that prednisolone 10 mg daily for 6 weeks can effectively control the pain of hand osteoarthritis (OA), according to results from the Hand Osteoarthritis Prednisolone Efficacy (HOPE) study.

This was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial aimed to assess the short-term effects of prednisolone in painful hand OA and synovial inflammation. Patients were required to have hand OA and signs of inflammation in their distal and proximal interphalangeal (DIP/PIP) joints and > 4 DIP/PIP osteoarthritic nodes and at least one DIP/PIP joint with soft swelling/erythema or evidence of synovitis on power Doppler ultrasound. The primary endpoint was finger pain.

Steroids Use in Lupus Linked to Damage Accural

Save

A report from Lancet Rheumatology shows that glucocorticoid use contributes to damage accrual in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) independent of disease activity.

RheumNow Podcast – ACR 2019 Round Up (11.15.19)

Save

Dr. Jack Cush presents his favorite abstracts and presentations from Rheumatology Round Up and ACR 2019.

Methotrexate and the Risk of Lung Disease

Save

Rheumatology has a comprehensive overview of methotrexate (MTX) and the risk of lung injury, MTX-related pneumonitis and interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD) with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Past reports suggest the frequence of MTX-pneumonitis to be between 0.3 and 11.6%; recent studies suggest it may be much lower.

Patients Prefer Nurse Led Care for their Gout

Save

Despite the well known, well publicized treat-to-target (T2T) goal of a serum uric acid (SUA) level 6 mg/dl, this goal is seldom achieved ( 40%) in clinical practice and patient adherence has been unacceptably low. A recent study shows that nurse-led care led to better outcomes in gout including patient acceptability, long-term adherence, and less flares.

Joint Injections: Are They Worth the Risk?

Save

Intra-articular injections of corticosteroids for relief of the pain of hip or knee osteoarthritis (OA) may have adverse long-term consequences, researchers suggested.

ACR 2018 - Day 1 Report

Save

Highlights from Tuesday and Wednesday (days 3 and 4) from the ACR annual meeting include: the important and impactful abstracts covered by the Rheumatology Roundup session; upadacitinib clinical trials; and the baricitinib CV and VTE safety analysis.

Declining Trends in Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Autoantibody–Associated Vasculitis Mortality in the USA

Save

Annals of Internal Medicine reports that age-adjusted mortality rates for antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody–associated vasculitides (AAV) have improved over time - with a decline of nearly 2 percent per year in the United States from 1999 to 2017. Nevertheless, long-term outcomes continue to lag behind mortality rates of the general population.

RheumNow Podcast – Women Take Over Rheumatology (10.4.19)

Save

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the News and Journal Reports from this week on RheumNow.com.