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Heavy Metal Rheumatology (9.23.2022)
Below are this week’s highlights from RheumNow, as discussed by Dr. Jack Cush. Thanks to all of you for your kind comments and great reviews of our weekly podcast. Please let us know how we can improve by emailing me or recording your suggestion using the "Ask Cush Anything" link on our website.
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Cancer Risk with Scleroderma
Spanish Scleroderma Registry examined a large cohort of systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients showing an increased cancer risk, especially breast, lung, hematologic and colorectal cancer.
The registry included 1930 patients with SSc and were compared to a matched general population to derive the standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) and independent cancer risk factors.
USPSTF Recommends Screening for Anxiety and Depression
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has recommended that general practitioners actively screen and identify anxiety and depression in all adult patients under 65 yrs.
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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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Clinical Profiles Seen with NXP-2 Antibodies
A recent review of the myositis associated autoantibody NXP-2 profiles its clinical associations with dermatomyositis (DM), calcinosis, severe myositis and, in some reports, with cancer.
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Yoga Fails to Benefit Knee Osteoarthritis
The Annals of Internal Medicine has published a study showing online yoga education and an unsupervised yoga program may improve physical function did not improve knee pain after 12 weeks and 24 weeks.
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Hydroxychloroquine Dosing and SLE Flares
A cohort study examining hydroxychloroquine dosing in patients with SLE suggests that HCQ doses of 5 mg/kg per day or less, in accordance with current ophthalmology and rheumatology guidelines, was associated with a higher risk of lupus flares, including moderate or severe lupus flares.
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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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CD19 CAR T Cell Therapy in SLE (9.16.2022)
The big news this week: the approval of deucravacitinib (a new class of drug?) for psoriasis; the 2022 ACR guidance on glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis; a national poll of older adults over the age of 50 who claimed self-reported or doctor-diagnosed arthritis; and much more. Let's review these and other news, journal reports and announcements from this past week.
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IBD Ups Risk of Psoriatic Disease
Findings of a new study suggest a causal effect between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and psoriasis (PSO) as well as psoriatic arthritis (PsA), but not vice versa.
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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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2022 New ACR Guidance on Glucocorticoid-Induced Osteoporosis (GIOP)
The ACR has updated this guideline and includes recommendations on abaloparatide (PTHrP) and romosozumab, which are newly available since the ACR’s 2017 GIOP guideline.
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70% of Older Adults Report Joint Pain
Dr. Beth Wallace and colleagues at the University of Michigan surveyed a national sample of older adults (50–80 yrs) and found that 70% currently report experiencing joint pain and 60% reported being told by a health care professional that they have arthritis.
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Disease Activity Drives Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes in RA
Two large RA registries have shown that pregnancy outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients is more related to RA disease activity rather than treatments use to control RA.
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Gout Comes With Increased Heart Risk
Incidence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) was significantly higher among gout patients than in the general Swedish population, researchers found, even when data were adjusted for common comorbidities.
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Doctor Appointment Wait TImes are Up
Forbes reports that a recent Merritt Hawkins survey shows that patients are waiting an average of 26 days for a scheduled appointment with a doctor.
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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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COVID Outcomes in Dermatomyositis
A retrospective study of dermatomyositis (DM) patients with COVID-19, shows that DM patients without comorbidities fair well (with regard to mortality and hospitalisation).
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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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