A national audit of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and early inflammatory arthritis patients included 6,354 patients drawn from 143 trusts and health boards in England and Wales. Early arthritis clinics exist in 57% of trusts. The report examined the assessment, referral and early secondary care management of patients presenting with early inflammatory arthritis (EIA).
A systematic review of the literature was done to assess the relationship between immunosuppressive therapy, adult systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and the onset of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy.
A total of 35 publications met inclusion criteria, and this included four observational studies, two large case series, and 29 case reports describing a total of 35 cases.
A retrospective study of elderly rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients on Medicare was conducted by a group of researchers from the University of Alabama. They aimed to compare the coronary heart disease risk among RA patients initiating biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs of different mechanisms between 2006-1012. (Citation source http://buff.ly/1PJDemH)
The American Society of Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) Task Force has issued a guidance report on the use of bisphosphonates (BP) with a focus on the risk vs. benefits of such therapy. (Citation source http://buff.ly/1Nn0CVb)
Apremilast, a novel phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibiting conversion of cyclic AMP to AMP, was approved for treatment of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) after showing its efficacy in 16 weeks PALACE 1, 2, and 3 trials in 2014.
I was truly stunned Monday when it was announced that Glenn Frey, from the Eagles, had died as a result of complications from his rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis and pneumonia.
It was unexpected, shocking and so wrong that someone so young would die, and from RA. It hit me hard - a bit worse than Lennon, but not as bad as 9/11.
Researchers from Belgium studied patient adherence to MTX (given orally or via injection) in 129 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients over a 16-week period using an electronic monitoring system and two validated adherence questionnaires.
Full adherence was noted in 58% of RA patients, and 75 % skipped at most one dose during 16 weeks.
Six volunteers were admitted to the University Hospital of Rennes in France last week after partaking in the Phase I trial of a new medication meant to treat mood disorders such as anxiety.
Comparative Harmful Risks with Targeted Immunomodulators. Desai et al did a systematic review of the literature, findings of 10 head-to-head RCTs and 51 observational studies. They found that risk of treatment discontinuation due to AEs was higher with infliximab than with adalimumab or etanercept in RA, PsA, and AS.
Medical Research Council study shows MRI lesions may predict which patients will have more rapidly progressing osteoarthritis.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a travel advisory for individuals traveling to the Caribbean and Latin America where infection with Zika virus has been prevalent.
The CDC has specifically cautioned pregnant women not to travel to those areas as the Zika virus has been linked to a serious birth defects.
Cosentyx (secukinumab) was approved by the FDA on 15 January, 2016 for patients with active ankyosing spondylitis (AS) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Secukinumab was approved in the European Union last year for both AS and PsA. Until now, this agent was FDA-approved for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis only.
Treatment paradigms for managing pregnancy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been challenged in recent years with the introduction of new agents and reclassification of drug safety during pregnancy by the FDA.
Almost half of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the UK receive glucocorticoids from primary care physicians, and of those who are prescribed glucocorticoids, more than half receive more than 10 mg a day.
With so much controversy surrounding the American Board of Medical Specialties' Maintenance of Certification program in 2015, especially as it pertained to the ABIM, Dr. Westby Fisher recaps some of the earlier announcements about the ABMS MOC program, then summarizes the year's most pertinent developments to serve as a springboard for 2016.
