Watch Dr. Cush discuss the highlights from this week on RheumNow.com.

Like other extraarticular manifestations, rheumatoid (RA) or connective tissue disease (CTD) related interstitial lung disease (ILD) is difficult to identify early and equally challenging to treat.

Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus are at risk of cardiovascular events early in the course of disease -- and even before their lupus is diagnosed, an international study found.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the rheumatology highlights from the news, media, and journals from this past week:

The GAUSS-3 trial, recently published in JAMA, examined cholesterol-lowering interventions in patients with a high LDL (>120 mg/dl) and a history of statin intolerance to 2 or more statins. 

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston evaluated the efficacy and safety of the anti-inflammatory drug losmapimod on cardiovascular outcomes given to patients with a history of myocardial infarction and CV risk factors.

The American College of Cardiology has released its expert consensus guidance regarding the use of non-statin therapies to lower cholesterol in high-risk patients.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI) and post-MI fatality compared with the general population. At issue is whether this applies to those undergoing a surgical procedure.

See the highlights from the past week that appeared on RheumNow.com, and watch Dr. Jack Cush as he reviews each of them. 

Fidler and colleagues from Toronto have recently shown that pulmonary disease is common in lupus, as they found 56% of their patients with abnormal pulmonary assessments.

Clinicians often face the issue of using a TNF inhibitor (TNFi) in patients with heart failure or cardiac disease. Here are the facts and data necessary to make a cogent decision to use or avoid TNFi.

Using hospitalization claims from 7 states, reasearchers studied the risk of cardiovascular outcomes following surgery in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.  (Citation source http://buff.ly/1TDsVG6)

Pulmonary hypertension is an uncommon complication of systemic sclerosis (SSc) and historically thought to slowly evolve in those with limited scleroderma over many years. 

Cardiovascular events account for significant morbidity and mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other connnective tissue disorders (CTD). Investigators analyzed health records from a large U.S.

I was truly stunned Monday when it was announced that Glenn Frey, from the Eagles, had died as a result of complications from his rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis and pneumonia.

Extraarticular manifestations affect more then half of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, and interstitial lung disease or "RA lung" is one of the more prevalent. The frequency of ILD in patients with RA varies from 5% to 58%.

Patients with psoriatic skin and joint disease are uniquely susceptible to multiple comorbidities, obesity and possibly more cardiovascular risks. In rheumatoid arthritis, the increased CV risk and CV events have been closely aligned with inflammation and disease activity.

Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis patient have significantly higher rates of comorbidity, including hypertension (HTN). This population-based, nested case–control study analyzed an inception psoriasis cohort from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database between 2000–2010.

Clements et al presented the results of their Scleroderma Lung Study II wherein PSS patients with interstitial lung disease were randomized to receive either 3 grams daily of mycopheonolate or 2mg/kg/day of cyclophosphamide.

 Myasoedova and colleagues from the Mayo Clinic have reported their new data that demonstrates improving cardiovascular (CV) mortality rates in current RA patients treated with modern drugs.