All News
Again, a High Mortality with Depression and RA
Last week we reported on a Korean study showing a 66% elevated mortality risk in RA patients (n=38,487) with depression.
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9 Facts about Leflunomide
Medscape has published an informative review of leflunomide, drawn from Dr. Eric Ruderman’s recent lecture on the subject at the February RWCS meeting in Maui.
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JAMA Review of DMARD Use in Rheumatoid Arthritis
JAMA has reviewed the "2022 EULAR Recommendations for the Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis With Synthetic and Biological Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs".
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Mixed Long-term Effects of Calcium and Vitamin D in Postmenopausal Women
A follow-up analysis of a randomized clinical trial found that the use of calcium and vitamin D supplements among postmenopausal women was associated with decreased risk for cancer mortality, but increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality.
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Depression and RA (3.8.2024)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news, journal reports and regulatory approvals from the past week.
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19% Arthritis Prevalence in the USA
According to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), in 2022, the prevalence of diagnosed arthritis in adults was 18.9% (women 21.5%, more than men 16.1%). These numbers are down since the CDC's MMWR report of 2019–2021, where is was estimated 21.2% of U.S.
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Can Mycophenolate be Stopped in Stable SLE?
In patients with clinically stable systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and lupus nephritis, the withdrawal of mycophenolate mofetil was not significantly inferior to mycophenolate maintenance, but MMF withdrawal had numerically more reactivations, while MMF maintenance had more infections.
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Sniffles & Arthritis (3.1.2024)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com. Are these associations with infection, biomarkers and weather real or imaginary? Linked or luck? Causal or casual? You decide....
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Many with Psoriatic Arthritis Fail to Achieve Minimal Disease Activity
Despite the availability of numerous advanced therapies for psoriatic arthritis (PsA), there remains a substantial burden and unmet need for improved therapies, according to a newly published Canadian study.
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Excess Cardiovascular Risk in Gout
A UK population cohort study has shown that gout carries an increased risk for a wide variety of cardiovascular disorders.
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Immunosuppression Increasing (2.23.2024)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past 2 weeks on RheumNow.com; but begins with a discussion of what constitutes "immunosuppression" and how it applies to our patients.
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CD19 CAR T-Cell Therapy in Autoimmune Disease
The NEJM has published the results of CD19 B cell depletion (by CAR-T cell therapy) in autoimmune disease patients, demonstrating it to be feasible, safe, and efficacious.
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ARIAA Trial: Abatacept Delays the Onset of RA
The ARIAA trial tested the utility of IV abatacept in individuals ACPA+ arthralgia patients with subclinical inflammation and showed abatacept to decrease MRI inflammation, clinical symptoms, and risk of future rheumatoid arthritis (RA) development.
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APIPPRA Trial: Abatacept in at-risk rheumatoid arthritis patients
Abatacept has been studied in seropositive clinically suspect arthralgia patients (at risk for rheumatoid arthritis) and shows the potential to delay or prevent the disease.
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VITAL Info on Autoimmune Disease (2.9.2024)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com. Highlights are summarized by three songs: "Stairway to Heaven", "You're No Good", and "How Long (has this been going on)".
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Racial and Ethnic Determinants of Psoriatic Arthritis
A study from a large metropolitan registry of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients showed several racial and/or ethnic groups are underrepresented and demonstrate differences in disease activity.
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Pre-Treatment Testing with Biologics Falls Short
US commercial insurance claim analysis of laboratory screening and monitoring practices in chronic inflammatory skin disease (CISD) patients shows that < 60% received the recommended pretreatment testing when starting systemic immunomodulatory treatment.
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Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease in Rheumatoid Arthritis
A prospective study of the BioSTAR registry estimates the prevalence of cardiovascular disease in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to be 4.6%.
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ACR Applauds Prior Authorization Rule
The American College of Rheumatology (ACR), on behalf of over 9,100 rheumatologists and rheumatology professional team members, applauds the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for finalizing its Advancing Interoperability and Improving Prior Authorization Processes for Medicare Adva
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Severe Hypocalcemia Risk with Denosumab and CKD Patients
On 1-19-2024, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Drug Safety Communication about the risk of severe hypocalcemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients taking denosumab for osteoporosis, with an accentuated risk in older women who are dialysis-dependent.
This report is an update to their November 2022 investigation, the results of a related study being recently reported in JAMA.
