It is well known that ANCA-associated vasculitides can be hard to control and relapses are common. The choice of maintenance therapy is rather limited and therapies are not always effective.

The potential association of herpes zoster with giant cell arteritis (GCA) has been a debated topic and certainly has gotten some attention at ACR 2016 this year.

Dr. Jerome Greenberg from UCLA has published 10 tips and pearls (based on years of teaching and experience) on immunizations in an out-patient practice:

Flu season is upon us. While we try our best to vaccinate as many patients as possible, at times it can be challenging for reasons ranging from patient’s perceptions that the vaccine gives them the flu to others stating they are allergic to vaccine components.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights, news and journal reports from this week at RheumNow.com

This metanalysis from 2013 reports on an important issue for orthopedists and rheumatologists alike. The issue being in those who need bilateral total knee arthroplasty, is it better to do both knees at once or to do one at a time (staged, serial) arthroplasties..

Researchers from the University of British Columbia reported on their systematic review and meta-analysis of risk of herpes zoster (HZ) in patients receiving biologics, DMARDs and/or corticosteroids for autoimmune diseases.

Rheumatologists have been challenged to treat hepatitis C virus (HCV)-induced rheumatic disease since discovery of the virus in 1989.

Symptoms attributed to chronic Lyme disease are the bane of a rheumatologist’s existence. We often see patients referred for a variety of nonspecific complaints that do not resolve after antibiotic therapy, including the so-called post-Lyme disease syndrome.

Three new FDA approvals, proteomics, cancer, infectious risk, nonadherence and disappointing clinical trial results covered in this RheumNow Week in Review.

Rates of serious infection and mortality among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)  did not depend on the immunosuppressive drug regimen they were on, investigators reported.

What does sex have to do with it? Although the Zika virus infection is known to be sexually transmitted, the same cannot be claimed for Dengue or Chikungunya.

A review of this week's news including the cost of opioid abuse, a RTX biosimilar, a new drug for scleroderma, a new shingles vaccine and a CPAP disappointment.

In the current issue of the NEJM, a Herpes zoster subunit vaccine was reported to be highly effective in adults - specifically in 2 studies (ZOE50 and ZOE70) targeting adults over age 50 and over age 70 years. (Citation source: http://buff.ly/2cMng17)

The International Osteoarticular Mycoses Consortitum has publist their review Aspergillus arthritis caused by invasive aspergillosis.

Their review identified 31 evaluable cases, 87% of whom were males and adults.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights from the past week on RheumNow.com, including IBD/TNFi and cancer risk, fracture nonunion, PMR worse in women, not treating asymptomatic hyperuricemia, and shingles followed by stroke.

Patients with autoimmune inflammatory diseases who develop herpes zoster are at increased risk of stroke for the subsequent 3 months, with risks diminishing thereafter, analysis of Medicare data showed.

Periodontal disease, gingivitis and Porphyromonas gingivalis have been linked to the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the production of anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA).

The factors that influence the safety of biologic therapy are numerous. Amongst them, increasing age is a potential risk factor, moreso if you also consider the polypharmacy, comorbidities and longer disease duration inherent in an elderly group of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

Researchers from Germany have analyzed their large prospective rheumatoid arthritis (RA) registry to address whether being on biologic therapies leads to poorer outcomes - namely sepsis or death, following a serious infection (SIE).