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Obesity and Low Back Pain

d EurekAlert!

A large patient population study finds weight gain,  increases risk for low back pain - the risk increased 7% for every BMI unit or 10 pounds over ideal weight. 

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Assess Reproductive Health in SLE Clinic Visits

d Jun Chu , MSN, CRNP

Due to the complexity of SLE, rheumatology providers should take an active role in assessing reproductive health, providing education on how SLE may affect pregnancy, and taking a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach with the patient’s gynecologist.

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UK study of 1846 RA pts starting a b/tsDMARDs, ~30% on steroids & majority (2/3) continued use over the first year of new novel treatment. This suggests these aer either severe RA pts or that we are not vigilant in limiting/weaning/stopping steroids in RA patients - which is it? https://t.co/7NWeAWTjSy
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Lupus Guidelines 2025 Monica Richey, ANP, New York, reviews the 2025 ACR lupus guidelines as part of RheumNow's "Mission: APP Partners in Care" campaign during the month of December. https://t.co/D1LE1H4zyi https://t.co/myPnT3ibKd

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Japan retrospective study of 38 RA pts who developed MTX assoc lymphoproliferative disorder (LPD) - 22 w/ spontaneous regression (SR) vs 16 non-SR (w/ 5 deaths). non-SR Pt had higher LDH levels at Dx & lower lymphocyte recovery 1 mo. post MTX withdrawal & higher mortality risk https://t.co/SsBQRxFvD1
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APP Pearls “It’s okay not to “fix” the complaint right away. Validate the patient, then watch and wait when appropriate. The urge to intervene quickly without confidence can be dangerous. See the patient back, keep listening, & continue good history-taking” - Jeannette Hart PA-C

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JAMA teaching case: 57 yoF w/ RA Rx w/ HCQ, NSAID, TNFi (ETN -->ADA) develops a new rash - pruritic vesicles/papular on neck, mouth, ears, chest, hands w/ some becoming ulcerated plaques, ESR >100. WHAT TO DO? A) steroids; B) stop ADA; C) Benadryl or D) Read more? Pt had https://t.co/DQpeUOC5I3
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Best of 2025: Variability of Guidelines on the Perioperative Use of DMARDs in Rheumatic Diseases Patients Despite advances in treatments reducing the need for major surgery, many rheumatic disease patients still require surgery while on DMARDs. A review of perioperative https://t.co/LHClCUvHrb
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APP Pearls “It’s important to explain the difference between an overreactive immune system vs. a weakened immune system” - Miguel Rodriguez, ANP

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Best of 2025: ERS/EULAR guidelines for CTD-related interstitial lung disease The ERS and EULAR have published clinical practice guidelines for the evaluation and management of CTD associated ILD in two simultaneous publications in the European Respiratory Journal and Annals of https://t.co/ceGCQjkmJV
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"It's suppose to be hard, if it wasn't hard everyone would do it. Hard is what makes it great! - Tom Hanks in "League of Their Own"

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Best of 2025: Targeting Obesity in Rheumatic Disease Patients Sattar et al. has published an informative overview of the effect of obesity on rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs). They estimate that nearly 70% of RMD patients are overweight or obese. https://t.co/aPGuYFCWLo
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Best of 2025: GRAPPA vs. EULAR on Complex/Difficult-to-Manage Psoriatic Arthritis Following the establishment of formal definitions for Difficult-to-Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis (D2T RA) by EULAR and Difficult-to-Manage axial Spondyloarthritis (D2M axSpA) by ASAS, the “Difficult” https://t.co/hFejdS4sjk
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APP Pearls “Ensure a patient understands the weekly dosing instructions for methotrexate” - Ben Smith, DMSc, PA-C

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Best of 2025: Contraception in SLE Pregnancy in SLE gets a lot of press in the rheumatology literature, and deservedly so, since pregnancy risks can be markedly increased. It was not that many years ago that women with SLE were counseled to avoid pregnancy. As recently as 2004, https://t.co/vBb0vyqod8
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Sjogrens is a hot area in drug development: “Sjogren’s Syndrome Pipeline Insight 2025” report provides comprehensive insights about 20+ companies and 22+ pipeline drugs, including: nipocalimab VAY736 (ianalumab) HZN-1116 AMG 329 R-2487 https://t.co/sVbyPLi2Um https://t.co/2URpGUsMk9

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Comprehensive review of the management of knee osteoarthritis - topicals, analgesics, narcotics, intraarticular, metabolic, nutraceuticals, TENS, acupuncture and biologics. https://t.co/3UjPQeZut9 https://t.co/z0dzENSbtX

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Inflammatory vs. Noninflammatory Pain https://t.co/ZZLMnT8IVO https://t.co/W0tVK75raN

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SMART study - Single vs. Split Dose Methotrexate in RA Split dose weekly, oral methotrexate (MTX) was shown to be superior to single dose MTX in treating active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. https://t.co/JN5wPGNjao https://t.co/hI8dxWmZe8

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APP Pearls “When I’m explaining treatment options, I say “hey you are the captain of this ship, I’m your co-captain. I help to guide you along this journey… (I can help you) avoid that Hurricane.” - April Woodrow, APRN, ANP-BC

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