Telemedicine Updates

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Several recent articles inform us of recent trends in Telemedicine.

ACR Urges Congress to Prioritize Medicare Pay Cuts, Prior Authorization, and Telehealth

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As the legislative session comes to a close, the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) is calling on members of Congress to include the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act (H.R. 3173/S. 3018), the Supporting Medicare Providers Act of 2022 (H.R.

Xeljanz Cancer Risks Detailed

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The degree to which the oral rheumatology drug tofacitinib (Xeljanz) seems to promote new malignancies is now fleshed out in the latest, and at least somewhat reassuring, report from a landmark safety study.

Bimekizumab Efficacy in TNF-Refractory Psoriatic Arthritis

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Bimekizumab, a selective inhibitor of interleukin (IL)-17F and IL-17, has shown superior efficacy and safety in a 16 week trial in patients with active psoriatic arthritis who previously failed therapy with tumour necrosis factor-α (TNFi) inhibitors.

The Top 10 Research Priorities in Psoriatic Arthritis

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A survey of 317 carers and clinicians focused on psoriatic arthritis has set an agenda of the top 10 research questions for psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Multi-ancestry analysis reveals novel genetic loci associated with Osteoarthritis

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The first large multi-ancestry genetics study of osteoarthritis (OA) has found 10 novel OA-associated genetic loci, and results showed some of the OA-associated regions are robustly found in every population ancestry studied. 

TARGET Trial - Cardiovascular Risk Reduction in Rheumatoid Arthritis

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A recent randomised clinical trial suggests immunomodulators reduce arterial inflammation, and thereby cardiovascular (CV) risk, but shows no significant benefit to TNF inhibitors over triple therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Comparing Biosimilar Growth in the US, Germany, and Switzerland

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The biosimilar landscape will change dramatically in 2023, following the successful rollouts in other countries in Europe.

Lupus Linked With Greater Risk of Cardiovascular Complications of Childbirth

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Pregnant women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were more prone to cardiovascular complications during delivery, and their risk seems to have increased over the past 15 years, according to national administrative data.

Rheum Drugs & IDSA Guidelines to Treat COVID-19

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The Infectious Diseases Society of America has recently updated its recommendations with regards to the treatment of severely ill, hospitalized COVID-19 infected patients and also about the appropriate use of anti-IL-6, JAKs and colchicine.

RECITAL Trial: RTX vs. CTX in CTD-ILD

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A UK study suggests the equivalent outcomes when patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) associated with connective tissue disease (CTD) are treated with either intravenous rituximab (RTX) or cyclophosphamide (CTX), but with fewer adverse events with RTX. 

Steroid injections worsen knee arthritis

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Two studies comparing injections commonly used to relieve the pain of knee osteoarthritis found that corticosteroid injections were associated with the progression of the disease.

Low Dose IL-2 Therapy in Sjögren’s

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There is a large, unmet need in treating Sjögren’s syndrome, yet a new randomized clinical trial has shown that low-dose interleukin 2 (LD-IL-2) was effective effective and well tolerated in patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS), with evidence of restored immune balance.

Tyk2 Inhibition Effective in SLE

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Deucravacitinib, an oral, selective TYK2 inhibitor, has demonstrated efficacy in a phase II trial active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients.

How Underweight Women Can Reduce Hip Fracture Risk

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How women can reduce the risk of hip fracture?  

ACR 2022 Appraisal, Praise & Critique (11.18.2022)

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It was great to be back at an ACR annual meeting, this one in Philadelphia - Philly was great. A walking town, rich in culture, history and good places to meet and mingle. 

I loved the city, but not the convention center (not easy to navigate). 

ACR Best Abstracts - Day 3

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The last day was jammed with important reports and research including the late breaking abstracts. 

ACR Best Abstracts - Day 2

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Day two at ACR 2022 was full of great sessions on imaging, vasculitis, lupus, vasculitis, spondyloarthritis, COVID, pregnancy, microbiome, economics and more.

Here are the RheumNow faculty selections for #ACRbest abstracts today:

Are MDA criteria created equal in PsA?

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Minimal Disease Activity criteria are used to evaluate PsA disease activity and response to treatment. Given that a patient only has to meet 5 of the 7 criteria, should the individual components be weighted equally? 

Are we really treating Psoriatic disease if we only address active disease domains and T2T?

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It’s widely accepted that Psoriatic disease has multi-system, multi-domain potential that can lead to life altering complications if left untreated or undertreated. Rheumatologists have shifted the way we discuss treatment options and disease state expectations with patients. Two #ACR22 abstracts stood out to me regarding the Psoriatic disease patient experience and will, ultimately, add to what I do in clinic.