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Thiazide Diuretics May Reduce Osteoporotic Fracture Risk
A large Swedish cohort study of hypertensive men and women presented at the 25th Scientific Meeting of the European Society of Hypertension, identitied a protective effect on osteoporotic fractures among current users of thiazide diuretic drugs independent of blood pressure level. This retr
Read ArticleFrequency of Infliximab Infusion Reactions
A Canadian registry shows that in community-based infusion clinics, infusion reactions to IFX are uncommon and mild to moderate in nature.
Read ArticleDSB: EULAR 2015 Safety Reports
Biologic Use Curtails Sepsis Events. An analysis of the German biologics register, RABBIT, examined the effect of current biologic therapy on future risk of sepsis (#OP0161).
Read ArticleFDA News; Undeclared Dexamethasone Containing OTC Products
The FDA has issued public warnings that 4 over-the-counter products promoted for pain relief contain potentially harmful, undeclared dexamethasone. The supplements are Asihuri Plus Forte, Ginseng She Lian Wan, Jianbu Huqian Wan, and Saurean Fong Sep Lin.
Read ArticleThe EULAR 2015 Report – Friday and Saturday
These abstracts and presentations were presented last week on the 12th and 13th of June at the EULAR 2015 annual meeting in Rome.
Read ArticleIncreasing Incidence of Osteomyelitis
A Mayo Clinic analysis of trends in osteomyelitis disclosed 760 new cases between 1969 and 2009 in Olmstead county. Rates increased from 11.4 cases per 100,000 person-years for the period from 1969 to 1979 to 24.4 per 100,000 person-years in the period from 2000 to 2009.
Read ArticleThe Risk of Uveitis in AS Treated with TNF Blockers
Claims data analysis of 2115 ankylosing spondylitis patients without uveitis who started TNF inhibitor therapy revealed that the median time to the onset of uveitis was longest for those taking adalimumab (243 days), followed by etanercept (182 days) and infliximab (144 days). 
Read ArticleThe EULAR 2015 Report - Wednesday
EULAR 2015 started the afternoon of Wednesday June 10th.
Read ArticleAmgen Halts Development of Brodalumab
IL-17 inhibitors are being developed for treatment of psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and axial spondyloarthritis. Broadalumab has been in phase II & III trials and been developed by a partnership between Amgen and Astra-Zeneca.
Read ArticleSildenafil May Help Heal Scleroderma Ulcers
A prospective study of sildenafil was conducted in 25 centers that included 83 patients and 192 digital ulcers at entry. The odds of healing ulcers was less, but not significant, for sildenafil.
Read ArticleRA Sarilumab Trials Meet Primary Endpoints
Three phase III studies of sarilumab (SARIL-RA-TARGET, -EASY and -ASCERTAIN), a fully-human IL6 receptor antibody, have been reported and met primary end points in these pivotal clinical trials.
Read ArticlePisetsky on Digital Infarcts and Rheumatoid Vasculitis
"As scholars of disease have noted, RA today appears to be a less severe disease than it was when I started my career in the 1970s. Then, patients routinely ‘went up in smoke’ and rapidly became crippled, wasting away in a state we called ‘burnt out’.
Read ArticleEarly DMARD Therapy Averts Cardiovascular Risk in RA
A Finnish early RA register studied 14,878 incident RA patients from 2000-2008 and identified 1157 deaths. Patients receiving DMARDs and MTX had lower mortality rates. The standardized moratility ratio for the entire cohort was reduced (0.57, 95% CI 0.52 to 0.62).
Read ArticleHepatotoxicity and TNF Inhibitors
Hepatic enzyme elevations with TNF inhibitor use is not uncommon.
Read ArticleZoster Risk is Similar Among Different MOA Biologics
The risk of new H zoster infection was studied among nearly 30,000 new biologic starts and compared rates seen with abatacept, adalimumab, rituximab, infliximab, etanercept, tocilizumab, certolizumab or golimumab initiation.
Read ArticleCommunication is the Best Medicine
Patients rate communication as one of the most important factors in choosing and sticking with a physician. The end product in at least 2/3 of visits is the prescription, yet prescription adherence is substandard in half of our patients. The key is communication.
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The Risk of Listeriosis in RA
In the mid-1990s, our Rheumatology Division at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School became involved with an early trial of a brand new TNF inhibitor.
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