All News
Intravenous Immune Globulin in Dermatomyositis
Few drugs have been studied well in the treatment of dermatomyositis (DM) and only recently has intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) been granted FDA approval for the treatment of DM, based on this pivotal trial.
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RheumNow Podcast – “That’s Not My Name” (10.7.2022)
Dr. Jack Cush goes off on "Untitling" (not using proper names/titles) in the clinic, in addition to reports on rheumatologist salaries, new drugs in phase 1-3 development and the range of COVID-19 MSK symptoms -- all from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Need to Quit Smoking ASAP
While it is known that smoking ups the risk of developing RA, its effect on outcomes in those with established rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is less known. A report from an early arthritis registry shows that current smoking increases disease activity and lowers health-related quality of life.
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Causes of Death in Lupus
The California Lupus Surveillance Project has longitudinally followed included systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) cases and shown that overall, the leading cause of death was cardiovascular disease (CVD), followed by rheumatic disease and hematologic/oncologic conditions.
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IL-17 Switching Works in Psoriatic Disease
Analysis of data from a Czech nationwide registry of psoriatic patients receiving biologic or targeted therapies (BIOREP) has shown a high success rate when switching between specific IL-17 inhibitors.
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COVID-19 Arthropathy and Myalgia
An online survey of random COVID-19 infected persons shows that arthralgia and myalgia are common consequences to COVID-19 infection.
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Opioid Crisis Costs USA $1.5 Trillion
Reuters has reported the results of a Congressional report showing the economic toll of the opioid addiction and overdose crisis on the United States reached nearly $1.5 trillion in 2020 alone and is likely to grow.
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Efficacy and Safety of JAK Inhibitors in Psoriatic Disease
There is a growing body of evidence demonstrating efficacy and safety of JAK inhibitors in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, according to a systematic review in BMC Rheumatology.
Is PMR the Next Indication for Tocilizumab?
About half of patients with steroid-dependent polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) were able to get off steroids altogether when they were started on tocilizumab (Actemra) infusions, which also improved disease control in most cases, a randomized phase III trial showed.
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ACR's State-by-State Report Cards for Rheumatic Disease
New report examines access, affordability, and activity and lifestyle factors in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, evaluating how easy it is to live with a rheumatic disease in your state. No state scored an "A" or "F", and only two states improved their 2018 grades.
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Does Methotrexate Use Lead to Melanoma?
A systematic review suggests that low-dose methotrexate (MTX) use is associated with an increased melanoma risk, but the absolute risk increase could be considered negligible.
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First In Class, TYK2 Inhibitor FDA Approved for Psoriasis
Deucravacitinib (Sotyktu), a first-in-class, oral, selective, allosteric tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor, is the only approved TYK2 inhibitor worldwide and the first innovation in oral treatment for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in nearly 10 years.
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Does Fibromyalgia Need B12? (9.9.2022)
Can we predict the bad outcomes? Like when ITP evolves into SLE; or when psoriasis will develop arthritis; or if Sjogren's will develop lymphoma? Let's dive in and review these journal reports and this past week's news from RheumNow.com.
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Does Dendritic Cell Targeted Therapy Work in SLE?
A phase 2 trial using litifilimab, a humanized monoclonal antibody binding to blood dendritic cell antigen 2 (BDCA2), demonstrated clinical efficacy in adults with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
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Pirfenidone Potential in RA-Related Lung Disease
Rheumatoid arthritis patients with existing interstitial lung disease (ILD) had less decline in lung function when receiving the antifibrotic agent pirfenidone (Esbriet) relative to placebo in a randomized trial, researchers reported here and in a simultaneous journal publication.
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Global Trends Informing the Future of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Finkh et al report on the prevalence and interesting trends in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), including its higher prevalence in industrialized countries and declining disease severity over time.
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Voclosporin Efficacy and Safety in Lupus Nephritis
An integrated analysis of two pivotal trials of voclosporin, a calcineurin inhibitor, in lupus nephritis patients saw significant improvement in complete renal responses (CRR) at one year.
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Goofy But True
Dr. Jack Cush discusses declining survival rates in the USA, FDA approvals of new COVID subvariant boosters and other odd and possibly true new research reports from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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Genetic Testing for Autoinflammatory Disease
Not all patients with periodic fevers fit neatly into diagnostic categories. Some can be diagnosed as Still’s disease (based on criteria) while others can be classified as autoinflammatory diseases (AID) and some may be unclassifiable, clinically or genetically.
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FDA Approves BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron COVID Booster Vaccines
Today the FDA authorized the updated Omicron subvariant (BA.4 and BA.5) COVID-19 booster shots manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna; with an anticipated ship/start date of early September 2022. The BA.5 subvariant accounts for more than 88% of U.S. infections.
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