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.  The study was done because RA-ILD has been shown to cause significant morbidity and mortality. 

Hereditary angioedema is a rare autosomal dominant disorder due to C1 inhibitor deficiency (type I) or dysfunction (type II) that leads to dysregulated plasma kallikrein activity, excess bradykinin production, and unpredictable potentially life-threatening recurrent angioedema attacks.

A systematic review of 238 pregabalin (Lyrica) trials for nonapproved indications shows that nearly two-thirds yielded uncertain evidence of efficacy, thereby questioning the off-label use or endorsement in clinical practice guidelines.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved Celltrion biosimilar of rituximab called Truxima; previously called CT-P10, now generically labeled as rituximab-abbs. This is the first biosimilar to the Rituxan currently approved to treat non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Truxima is not approved for use in rheumatoid arthritis, vasculitis, pemphigus vulgaris or chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Lee and a group of Korean investigators have analyzed the comparative safety of allopurinol and febuxostat in a small cohort of gout patients with fatty liver disease (FLD) and found febuxostat had a lower risk for hepatotoxicity (defined as AST or ALT at least 3× the upper limit of normal) compared to allopurinol.