Best of 2018: Patients May Not Fill Your Prescription

Save

A new study linking administrative claims and electronic health records (EHRs) shows that nearly 40% of patients fill and take newly prescribed methotrexate (MTX), tofacitinib or biologics. 

Kan et al set out to estimate the extent and predictors of primary nonadherence in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who received new prescriptions for methotrexate, biologics or tofacitinib.

Best of 2018: Ustekinumab May be Effective in Lupus

Save

Ronald F van Vollenhoven and colleagues have reported in Lancet that ustekinumab (UST), an interleukin-12 and -23 inhibitor, when added to usual therapy in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, was shown to be superior to placebo at improving clinical efficacy and laboratory param

Best of 2018: Unproven But Profitable Stem Cell Clinics

Save

Stem cell clinics are popular and proliferating as they are largely a cash business and fall outside of FDA regulatory control. In lieu of scientific proof, most advocates use patient testimonials and the placebo effect to back up their claims.

Mourning the Loss of NIAMS Director Stephen Katz, MD, PhD

Save

The following tribute to the late Dr. Steven Katz appeared on the NIH website. 

Zolendronate Protects Against Fracture in Osteopenia

Save

The NEJM reports that the use of zoledronate significantly reduces the risk of nonvertebral or vertebral fragility fractures in women with osteopenia.

Reassuring VTE Data for Tofacitinib

Save

No significant differences in risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE) were seen in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with tofacitinib (Xeljanz) and those receiving tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors, analysis of administrative data showed.

H2H: Ixekizumab vs. Adalimumab in Psoriatic Arthritis

Save

Lilly has issued an advanced press release on its SPIRIT-H2H trial, wherein ixekizumab (Taltz) was shown to be more effective than than adalimumab (Humira) in a 24 week psoriatic arthritis study.

Rising Physician Exclusion from Medicare and Medicaid

Save

JAMA Network Open has published that an increasing number of physicians are being excluded from Medicare and other forms of public insurance. 

CDC Top 15 Most Common Opioid Overdose Drugs

Save

The Dec. 12 issue of the National Vital Statistics Reports from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the most commonly abused drugs causing drug overdose deaths (between 2011-2016) include fentanyl, heroin, oxycodone, and cocaine.

No End in Sight for the Shingrix Vaccine Shortage

Save

There is a national shortage of a new shingles vaccine, Shingrix, which is a problem for those who want to start the vaccine and those seeking to receive their second and final injection. 

IL-23 Outduels IL-17 Inhibition in Psoriasis

Save

Johnson & Johnson has announced the preliminary results of its phase 3 ECLIPSE study; a head-to-head trial wherein guselkumab (Tremfya; an IL-23 inhibitor) was compared to secukinumab (Cosentyx; an IL-17 inhibitor) in adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.

Genetic Diagnosis for Previously Undiagnosed Disorders

Save

The NEJM has reported the NIH's Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) study results of genetically identifying new diseases from prospectively followed persons with undiagnosed disorders.

The UDN was formed in 2014 as a network of seven clinical sites, two sequencing cores, a coordinating center, central biorepository, a metabolomics core, and a model organisms screening center. It was established to apply a multidisciplinary model in the evaluation of the most challenging cases and to identify the biologic characteristics of newly discovered diseases.

SLE and Risk of Malignancy

Save

The risk for cancer in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients has been inconsistently studied.  A new metanalysis shows that SLE has an increased risk for 16 specific cancers and decreased risk for prostate cancer and cutaneous melanoma. 

Patients Don't Always Tell the Truth

Save

Sometimes patients withhold information from their doctors, and a new study suggests that as much as 60 - 80% of patients consciously omit information to their doctors, despite knowing this may bear on their health and well-being.

Chronic Kidney Disease Increasing in the U.S.A.

Save

JAMA has published the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study showing that that, from 2002 to 2016, the US burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD) increased, with some states exhibiting more than twice the burden as others.

PRAIRI Study - Can RA Be Prevented?

Save

B-cell depletion may offer a means of delaying the onset of clinical arthritis in adults at high risk, according to the PRAIRI study - a proof-of-mechanism study in pre-clinical RA patients. 

New ACR/NPF Guidelines for Management of Psoriatic Arthritis

Save

The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) have released a joint treatment guideline for psoriatic arthritis (PsA) that provides evidence-based pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic recommendations and includes recommendations on other management issues inclu

Dendrimer Nanocarrier Delivers IGF-1 to Degenerative Cartilage

Save

Researchers from MIT have developed a novel treatment for osteoarthritis (OA) by using dendrimer-based nanocarriers to deliver insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) to chondrocytes within joint cartilage and in animal models have shown when these nanocarriers injected into rat knees in models of O

Filgotinib in Psoriatic Arthritis and Ankylosing Spondylitis

Save

Another, new Janus kinase 1 (JAK1) inhibitor is out with impressive data - this time its filgotinib, demonstrating its efficacy and safety two separate clinical trials of patients with psoriatic arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis.

RheumNow Podcast – To Needle or Not to Needle (11.30.18)

Save

Dr. Jack Cush updates the news and reports from the past week at RheumNow.com: