A retrospective analysis of the ACR RISE registry shows that multimorbidity is not only common in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but also impacts treatment choices and outcomes.

Randomized clinical trials in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) are fraught with fault and inconclusive outcome measures, including the more recently developed EULAR Sjögren's Syndrome Disease Activity Index (ESSDAI).  There's a new composite endpoint outcome for RCTs in pSS, called the Composite of Relevant Endpoints for Sjögren's Syndrome (CRESS).

A prospective, longitudinal study of the cognitive development of children born to mothers with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) demonstrates normal development as measured by comparative school test scores.

AstraZeneca announced today that anifrolumab (Saphnelo or anifrolumab-fnia) was approved by the the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for that treatment of adult patients with moderate to severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who are receiving standard therapy.  

"Fibromyalgianess" is highlighted as a risk factor for undue, extended glucocorticoid use in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, according to Wallace and colleagues in Rheumatology. Fibromyalgianess is associated more disability and poor responses to RA treatment and can be seen in over 1/3 of RApatients.

How much psoriasis do you need to have in order to have psoriatic arthritis? This plus a review of rheumatology and COVID news from the past week on RheumNow.com.

Registry data suggests an increased risk of herpes zoster (HZ, shingles) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients taking JAK inhibitors (JAKi) but also with other biologic DMARDs, compared to csDMARDs. RA patients from the German RABBIT register were prospectively enrolled (2007 - 2020) and safety events were ascertained, including HZ events.

The ARTIS Study Group has published their analysis of (non-skin) cancer risk in rheumatoid arthritis, claiming the overall safety of biologic DMARDs and targeted synthetic DMARDs (tsDMARDs).

Methotrexate and leflunomide (LEF) are the most widely prescribed DMARDs worldwide; yet biologic DMARDs are the newest and best selling agents for rheumatoid arthritis worldwide. A recent study of combination therapy with MTX and LEF underscores the efficacy and safety of this approach and puts it in perspective against biologic DMARDs in RA.

An increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in rheumatoid arthritis is well known and feared but an RA cohort study suggests that preventive medication use in RA patients lags behind that seen in diabetes mellitus (DM).

Today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that masks should be used by those vaccinated against the coronavirus in public indoor spaces in parts of the country where the virus is surging.

Medscape has published the annual U.S. News and World Reports ranking of Rheumatology Hospitals, again honoring Johns Hopkins Hospital with the top spot, with runner up status going to the Cleveland Clinic, Hospital for Special Surgery, Mayo Clinic and Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Disease activity leads to poor outcomes; but does comorbidity add to this?  A recent analysis suggests that while comorbidities do not affect long-term, functional outcomes, sociodemographic factors do affect outcomes in rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).

Sparks and colleagues have published data from the Global Rheumatology Alliance noting that among rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients afflicted with COVID-19 infection, there was little influence of their baseline biologic or targeted synthetic (b/ts) disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) COVID-19 outcomes (with the exception of rituximab and Janus kinase inhibitors).

Bicycles, Tramadol, biologics - these are but a few of my favorites things in today's broadcast. Join me as I review the news and journal articles from this past week on RheumNow.com.