Canadian early RA (ERA) patients were interviewd to depict their perspectives from onset and diagnosis to referral and care. This report highlights the importance of patient pain and primary care physician (PCP) intake and referral. PCP and HCP delays in referral to a specialist still exist.

A recent Forbes article, "Biosimilars Are Making Inroads In U.S., But It’s Still A Bumpy Ride", reviews the current state and reasons for slowish uptake of these significant cost-savings alternatives to biologic therapy in treating cancer and autoimmune disorders. The following are takeaway bullets from this informative article.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week from RheumNow.com.

Changes in the make-up of the gut microbiome are linked to the onset of clinically evident rheumatoid arthritis in those at risk of the disease because of genetic, environmental, or immunological factors, suggests research published online in the 

Rheumatoid arthritis is a common disease affecting an estimated 17 million people worldwide. The disease is caused by immune cells attacking the joints and can result in pain, swelling, and damage to the cartilage and bone.

A Korean population based study found that people infected with COVID-19, especially severe COVID-19, had an increased risk of autoimmune and autoinflammatory connective tissue disorders.

A EULAR taskforce has evaluated the effect of lifestyle behaviors in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) and concluded that there is moderate evidence for a small benefit for certain dietary components, but overall, high-level evidence regarding dietary exposures on outcomes in RMDs is lacking.