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CV Risks Similar in Systemic Sclerosis and Rheumatoid Arthritis
Interactions between disease-related inflammatory processes and the development of several morbidities have been well-studied in RA, particularly heart disease. This is not the case for the often-lethal SSc (estimated standardized mortality ratio between 2.5 and 4.0).
Read ArticleRheumNow Podcast – To Needle or Not to Needle (11.30.18)
Dr. Jack Cush updates the news and reports from the past week at RheumNow.com:
Read ArticleRheumatoid Lung Disease Imposes Significant Morbidity and Mortality
Insurance claims data were analyzed for the frequency of interstitial lung disease (ILD) associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and finds that although rare, its frequency increased over time and it is associated with a significant mortality rate.
Read ArticleHigh CV Risk in Lupus
Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) remain at risk for accelerated atherosclerosis, and important questions have yet to be answered, British investigators reported.
Read ArticleThe RheumNow Podcast – Heartbreak of Methotrexate (11.16.18)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news from the past week at RheumNow.com.
Read ArticleSubclinical Heart Inflammation Seen in RA
Subclinical myocardial inflammation is common among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and is associated with articular disease activity, researchers reported.
Read ArticleCIRT Trial - Methotrexate Fails at Cardiovascular Prevention
Methotrexate has been shown to reduce cardiovascular (CV) deaths in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Given that inflammation underlies the pathogenesis of atherothrombosis, Dr. Paul Ridker and colleagues studied the value of low dose methotrexate (MTX) in preventing cardiovascular events.
Read ArticleRheumNow Weekly Podcast – 3 Wiseguy Rheumatologists (11.9.18)
Dr Jack Cush reviews the News and Journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com. Be sure to check out our upcoming meeting in March 2019 - RheumNow Live.
Read ArticleLow Short-Term Risks of NSAIDs in High Risk Patients
JAMA has published a large Canadian claims-based study showing that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use in patients with hypertension, heart failure, or chronic kidney disease was not associated with a significant safety risk - but this only looked at short-term outcomes (7-3
Read ArticleSpotlight on Interstitial Lung Disease at ACR 2018
Here are a few important advances in our understanding of interstitial lung disease (ILD) from the ACR 2018 meeting last week.
Read ArticleAnti-phospholipid Antibodies and Myocardial Infarction.
The Annals of Internal Medicine features a communique from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden demonstrating that elevated levels of antiphospholipid antibodies may be found in patients with myocardial infarction without any autoimmune co-morbidity, published in Annals of Internal M
Read ArticleRheumNow ACR Week in Review: ACR Wrap-Up (10.26.18)
This past week in Chicago gave us a plethora of new and eye-opening research, people, KOLs, exhibits, sessions, guidelines, posters and a never-ending supply of coffee served in small paper cups. ACR 2018 highlights for me included:
Read ArticleWalking the Tightrope of Treat to Target in Psoriatic Arthritis
In the last few years, new studies have been published examining if early intervention and tight control (TC) of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) disease activity will have the same beneficial outcomes as it does for rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Read ArticleRheumNow Week in Review – ACR Preview Edition (10.19.18)
Dr. Jack Cush summarizes the news and reports from RheumNow.Com this past week and previews RheumNow activities at the upcoming ACR 2018 meeting in Chicago.
Read ArticleNSAIDs OK for Certain High-Risk Groups?
Some patients typically contraindicated for prescription nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use may be able to take them with no increased risk of harm, according to a large observational study.
Read ArticleRheumNow Week in Review – I Wanna New Drug (9.28.18)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news from the past week on RheumNow.com, including news on inappropriate opioids, pre-clinical RA treatment, DMARDs in Gout, the decline of arthroscopy, and a pain in the mouth.
Read ArticleVenous Thromboembolism Increased with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Not with TNF Inhibition
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common adverse event throughout medicine and includes both pulmonary embolism (PE) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The cost of diagnosing a thromboembolic event is approximately $4000 - $5550, while the annual cost of treating one case of VTE is betwe
Read ArticleQuarterly Canakinumab Reduces Gout Risk Without Affecting Uric Acid
The Annals of Internal Medicine reports that interleukin-1 (IL-1) inhibitor treatment is associated with a reduced risk of gout attacks - such are the findings of an anlysis of the CANTOS study previously reported at the Annual ACR 2017 meeting in Washington, DC.
Read ArticleTocilizumab Equals other Biologics in Cardiovascular Risk
An odd side effect of several new agents is the risk of hyperlipidemia. While this has been seen with tocilizumab (TCZ), there does not appear to be a resultant risk of cardiovascular (CV) events. A study of claims data compared CV risk in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients receiving TOC (an IL6 receptor antagonists) and other biologics and found no differences with regard to CV outcomes.
Read ArticleCardiovascular Benefits of Maintaining Biologic Therapy
An Australian prospective study of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) has shown that sustained use of tumour necrosis factor (TNFi) inhibitors or biologics can reduce the risks of cardiovascular events (CVEs).
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