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Abatacept Most Effective Early and in Seropositive RA
An open-label, 2 year study evaluated the efficacy and safey (drug retention) of subcutaneous (SC) abatacept (ABA) in active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and showed superior responses when ABA was given to biologic-naive and seropositive RA patients.
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Fever Pitch (7.15.2022)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the new studies and drug approvals and new insights into febrile disorders from the past week on RheumNow.com
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Can Antimalarials be Withdrawn in Quiescent Lupus?
Antimalaria (AM) therapy is a cornerstone to the management of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), yet a recent study suggests that slowly tapering AM yields a lower rate of SLE flares.
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MRP8/14 as a Biomarker in Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
A large cohort study of children with febrile disorders has demonstrated the diagnostic utility of Myeloid-related protein 8/14 (MRP8/14) in diagnosing systemic JIA patients (SJIA) in clinical practice.
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Rituximab Induction and Maintenance in Older ANCA–Associated Vasculitis Patients
A cohort study suggests that rituximab (RTX) use among patients 75 years and older with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)–associated vasculitis (AAV) is efficacious but also has a high risk of serious adverse events, likely related to associated steroid use and the advanced age of the po
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Viscosupplementation Ineffective in Knee Osteoarthritis
The BMJ has published the results of a metanalysis showing strong conclusive evidence that viscosupplementation in knee osteoarthritis (kOA) has minimal effects on kOA pain, and also reveals strong evidence of an increased risk of serious adverse events.
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Steroid Injection for Chronic Achilles Tendinopathy
Adding a corticosteroid shot to exercise therapy significantly improved symptoms of chronic Achilles tendinopathy, a 100-person randomized trial found.
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ICYMI: 2021 Rheumatology Year in Review
For 2022, let's look our top 10 list of advances, game-changers, worries and those better medical practices that evolved during 2021.
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ICYMI: Adalimumab Addition vs. Methotrexate Escalation in Psoriatic Arthritis
An interesting study in Lancet Rheumatology shows that psoriatic arthritis patients not responding to methotrexate alone can respond after adding or escalating adalimumab on top of methotrexate to reach minimal disease activity (MDA) response.
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Rheumatic Associated Macrophage Activation Syndrome
Macrophage Activation Syndrome (MAS) is a hyperinflammatory condition that has a significant mortality risk and may arise in patients with rheumatic disease.
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ICYMI: Drug Survival Differences in RA, PsA, SpA and PsO
Drug survival may be the best measure of efficacy and safety. A study of novel therapy durability (survival) in patients with RA, axial spondyloarthritis, PsA, and psoriasis shows that while all these drugs are approved for said conditions, drug survival varies by condition, suggesting an ongoing need for individualized treatment.
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ICYMI: Allopurinol Safety in CKD Patients
A study in the Annals of Internal Medicine reports chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients can be safely treated with allopurinol without an increased risk of mortality.
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Novel Anti-TNF Shines in Rheumatoid Arthritis Trial
A new way of inhibiting tumor necrosis factor (TNF) for treating rheumatoid arthritis showed strong results in a phase II/III clinical trial, researchers said.
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Placebo Works Best in Combination
Analysis of two large clinical trial datasets shows that placebo response rates in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of patients with rheumatoid arthritis are better when the patient continued background methotrexate (MTX).
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New Updated GRAPPA Psoriatic Arthritis Recommendations
The GRAPPA (Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis) treatment recommendations have been updated and the 2021 evidence-based guidance is rich in treatment recommendations based on the key disease "domains" - peripheral arthritis, axial disease, enthesitis, dactylitis, skin and nail psoriasis; with new PsA related domains uveitis and inflammatory bowel disease.
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Gabapentin Implicated in Overdose Deaths
Recent FDA and MMWR warnings suggest that gabapentin was present and implicated in almost 10% of US overdose deaths between 2019 and 2020. This CDC report also stated that gabapentin was the cause of the death in half of these cases.
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HCQ for RA: Not a Great Idea?
Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) appeared less safe from a cardiovascular standpoint than methotrexate in older patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), analysis of Medicare data indicated.
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Are You Wasting Money on Supplements or Vitamins?
The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has updated its recommendations regarding the efficacy of supplements or multivitamins for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mortality in the general adult population.
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Inferior IL-17 Inhibitor Responses in Psoriatic Women
Pooled data from two large ixekizumab (IXE) trials show that male patients had greater clinical responses than did female patients with psoriatic arthritis are largely unexplored. Reasons for this differential treatment responses to an interleukin-17A inhibitor (IXE) between male and female patients is unexplained.
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Podcast on Podcasting (6.24.22)
A tutorial on podcasting - what works and what does not, 7 keys to podcast success, who and what is it for, and more!
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