Patients with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis who were being treated with ustekinumab (Stelara) had lower rates of serious hospitalized infections than patients receiving other biologics or small molecule therapies, a study utilizing data from two commercial claims databases found.
A French registry analysis compared the risk of diverticulitis and gastrointestinal perforation (GIP) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients treated with biologics and found a greater risk of both in patients receiving tocilizumab (TCZ) compared with those on rituximab (RTX) or abatacept (ABA). It appears the increased risk with TCZ related to the increased risk of diverticulitis with TCZ.
The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery reports the findings of a 4-year trial comparing outcomes of total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) versus ankle arthrodesis (AA) in patients with severe ankle arthritis; finding that while both groups improved, TAA was associated with less pain and better function after 4 years.
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are well known to cause immune-related adverse events (irAEs). A study from the Dutch Melanoma Treatment Registry shows that the use of checkpoint inhibitors for advanced melanoma in AID (autoimmune disease) patients did not increase the risk of irAEs, except for those with preexisting IBD.
Erosive hand osteoarthritis (EHOA) was studied as part of the Osteoarthritis Initiative, and shown to increase with advanced age and female sex, with developmental findings to suggest that EHOA as a disorder of skeletal frailty.
Anifrolumab has been studied in two large phase 3 trials in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients; pooled data from both the TULIP-1 and TULIP-2 trials were used to show that anifrolumab reduces flares in patients with moderate to severe SLE.
Anifrolumab is a human monoclonal antibody to type I interferon receptor subunit and is being developed to treat active SLE patients.
Tildrakizumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-23p19 studied in adults with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), was found to be superior to placebo and well tolerated without reports of uveitis, systemic fungal infections, inflammatory bowel disease, major cardiac events or death.
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com - a website for rheumatologists, by rheumatologists.
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RheumNow Live (RNL) for 2021 was held March 20 - 21 in Fort Worth, TX, and now all can partake in the meeting - by video, podcast or by signing up for Tuesday Nite Rheumatology (TNR).
RNL has finished its 3rd year as a hybrid meeting, with the live meeting streamed to hundreds at home, who are watching and interacting on the same content viewed by those in attendance in Fort Worth.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today updated COVID guidance such that fully vaccinated people do not need to wear masks outdoors, can avoid wearing them indoors in most places, and in most places will not need to physically distance. CDC believes these changes will encourage more Americans to get vaccinated.
Sparks and colleagues have published a matched cohort analysis demonstrating risk factors that may augment the risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-associated interstitial lung disease (ILD), especially the combination of obesity, high CRP, high MD-HAQ and >30 pack-year smoking history.
NSAIDs do not affect COVID outcomes; here we are nearly 16 months into the pandemic, and this is the common sense conclusion of a recent trial published in Lancet Rheumatology.
Last month, psoriasis patients covered by Cigna received a curious letter from the insurance giant's pharmacy management division. They could receive a $500 debit card from Cigna, with just one string attached: they would have to switch to a different medication, one preferred by the insurer. Shortly thereafter, the patients' treating physicians received a letter containing the same message.
Lancet has published the results of the AURORA-1 trial, wherein the calcineurin inhibitor, voclosporin, was tested in a placebo controlled trial of lupus nephritis and shown to be effective at inducing a complete renal response.
Members of an FDA advisory panel were sharply divided as to whether avacopan, an oral small molecule inhibitor of the C5a receptor, was sufficiently safe and effective for treating antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis.
