A metanalysis of phase II, III and IV trials in moderate to severe plaque psoriasis suggests comparative efficacy biologic treatments, but that that brodalumab, guselkumab, ixekizumab, and risankizumab-rzaa were shown to have the past skin (PASI) response rates.

JAMA Internal Medicine has reported that use of low dose aspirin for venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis after total hip and knee replacement is equal in efficacy to other anticoagulants.

The suggestion to hit rheumatoid arthritis (RA) early and hard with biologic therapies itself took a hit in a new study. Use of first-line etanercept (Enbrel) plus methotrexate in very early RA was not associated with a substantially higher rate of remission compared with a strategy of treat-to-target methotrexate monotherapy, a randomized open-label trial found.

The VEDERA study sought to confirm whether the very early introduction of first-line etanercept+methotrexate (ETN+MTX) was superior to treat-to-target MTX (MTX-TT) in patients with early RA.

The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) has established an international collaborative group (EULAR SS Task Force) to develop the first EULAR evidence and consensus-based recommendations for the management of patients with Sjogens syndrome (SjS).

The BMJ reports that while most US providers are cautious in their prescribing, half of opioid prescriptions are written by 1% of providers. Between 2003 and 2017, there was an annual average of 669495 providers prescribing 8.9 million opioid prescriptions.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com.

The NEJM weighs in on the problem of post-menopausal osteoporosis (OP) and tackles the use of hormonal therapy. The decline in estrogen after menopause may increase risks for osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and cognitive decline. The use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to obviate these issues may be primarily driven by hot flashes in postmenopausal women.1 Who may benefit from hormone therapy among postmenopausal women?