A controlled clinical trial has shown that giving the IL-6 receptor antibody, tocilizumab (TCZ), to  patients with Takayasu arteritis (TAK) results in clinical efficacy and has a steroid sparing efffect.

All states and territories had more than 15% of adults who were physically inactive and this estimate ranged from 17.3 to 47.7%,  according to new state maps of adult physical inactivity prevalence released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the journal reports and news from RheumNow.com. Be sure to register for RheumNow Live 3/13/2020 in Fort Worth Rheumnow.live.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used for acute or chronic arthritis, headache, visceral pain, postoperative pain, etc but come with a small but significant risk of serious adverse effects, including hypertension, cardiovascular disease, kidney injury and GI complications.

NEJM has published the results of the TULIP2 trial with anifrolumab, an alpha interferon blocker, in the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus, showing significant improvement (over placebo) in multiple lupus outcome measures, including BICLA, SRI-4, CLASI and others.

The Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry reports there is moderate evidence that six sleep disorders (insomnia, fragmentation, daytime dysfunction, prolonged latency, rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder and excessive time in bed) significantly increases the risk of cognitive disorders.Metanalysis of 51 previously published reports looked at sleep issues and cognitive health over time.

Do postmenopausal women, under age 65 years, need a baseline BMD testing? A JAMA Insights review suggests that the absolute risk of fracture is low in this group and that USPSTF guidelines should be considered - that we should be screening women younger than 65 years who are at increased risk of osteoporosis and we should be using a formal risk assessment tool to identify candidates for bone density testing.

It began as many cases do: an ill patient, in the ICU, with signs and symptoms across several body systems, yet no clear unifying diagnosis on admission. With things stabilizing, the internal medicine hospital team on which I was serving as hospitalist that week assumed care of the patient. As the case unfolded – pulmonary infiltrates that could be hemorrhagic, renal dysfunction with proteinuria – rheumatic diseases rose in the differential.

Researchers from the Brigham and Women's Hospital have reported that adults with type 2 diabetes who were treated with SGLT2 inhibitors had a lower risk of gout compared to GLP1 agonist, suggesting that sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors may reduce the risk for gout with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Medscape has reported the results of its 2020 annual physician survey, This year rheumatologists (60%), general surgeons (60%), public health and preventive medicine physicians, and allergists/immunologists are the "happiest" outside of work compared to other specialists, according to Medscape. Lowest in happiness were internal medicine, critical care and neurology (44-48%).

Lancet Rheumatology has reported the results of a multicenter follow-up study of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients showing that organ damange is linked to glucocorticoid use, independent of clinical or serological disease activity.

Statin-induced myositis, often with anti-HMGCR autoantibodies can be difficult to manage, Arthritis Research & Therapy yhas published the experience of 55 patient with HMGCR myopathy, demonstrating that while steroid management may be reasonable in select patients, the use of triple steroid/IVIG/SSI was very efficacious in induction.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week on RheumNow.com. The podcast covers: best therapies for dactylitis and enthesitis; we have a new knockout for knee pain in OA; and are you on the naughty or nice list when it comes to the new ACR-AF guidelines for arthritis? This and more. Tune in.

A group of Western Australian clinicians have set out to assess current practices and proved guidance recommendations for high-quality care for the most common musculoskeletal (MSK) pain scenarios encountered by clinicians in emergency and primary care. They have promulgated 11 high-quality clinical practice guidelines (CPGs).

A study from the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology has shown that  knee pain secondary to osteoarthritis (OA) may be effectively treated by selective vascular interruption (embolization) showing efficacy and safety in a small pilot trial.