The Annals of Rheumatic Disease reports a psoriatic arthritis study where in ixekizumab was non-inferior to adalimumab for achievement of ACR50 responses but was superior to adalimumab for achievement of PASI100 by week 24.
While the efficacy and safety of interleukin 1 (IL-1) inhibitors (e.g., anakinra) in the acute management of gout and pseudogout has been repeatedly shown, the cost efficacy of such biologic therapy has rendered it impractical for most. A new retrospective study has shown that IL-1 inhibitors may be effective and appropriate for some medically complex, hospitalized patients with acute gout or calcium pyrophosphate crystal arthritis.
The NEJM reports on a randomized comparison of hemiarthroplasty and total hip arthroplasty in displaced femoral neck fractures and shows no difference in function and quality of life over 24 months.
The NEJM reports the results of a one year trial wherein ustekinumab (UST) was shown to be effective at inducing and maintaining remission in patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis. Ustekinumab, currently approved for use in psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and Crohn's disease, is a monoclonal antibody against the p40 subunit of interleukin-12 and interleukin-23.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Rituxan (rituximab) for the treatment of granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) in children 2 years of age and older in combination with glucocorticoids.
This is the first approved treatment for children with vasculitis.
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and articles from the past week on RheumNow.com.
Opioids are generally not indicated for pain in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and other rheumatic diseases because of limited efficacy and risks for preference and adverse health effects.
A water pipe in my house broke, and I had to call for emergency plumbing service. The next day I went to the hospital, where I was on my two weeks of General Medicine inpatient attending. An elderly man was admitted, cared for, and following this patient's successful hospital discharge several days later, something occurred to me.
A double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of low-dose IL-2 in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has shown that low-dose IL-2 induced was clinically effective while expandng regulatory T cells and NK cells, which may benefit immune homeostasis in SLE patients.
As the leading organization for people with arthritis, the Arthritis Foundation has just released the first CBD guidance for adults with arthritis. CBD, or cannabidiol, a plant-based compound, has become popular among people with arthritis seeking to ease chronic joint pain.
Rheumatology leaders commend CMS for proposing E/M code changes and urge agency to make additional changes to final rule.d
After a few clinic no-shows, our clinic partner discussions lapsed into a discussion of clinics, especially bad clinics. Amidst the cussing and discussing of clinic experience, my partner, Dr. Dao, threw out the phrase, “clinic exorcism”! What a great title for a different kind of blog.
When clinic operations and operators are truly bad, who you gonna call? Not Clinic Busters. Think about clinic exorcisms designed to eradicate potentially
Braaten and colleagues from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have reported their experience with chronic inflammatory arthritis induced by immune checkpoint inhibitor therapies, showing that in some, inflammatory arthritis persists after the immunotherapy has been discontinued.
A systematic review in PLOS suggests that parenteral MTX therapy is more successful than oral MTX in achieving optimal disease activity control.
A Canadian administrative claims analysis has shown that gout-associated inflammation increases the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and pulmonary embolism (PE) before and after the diagnosis of gout.
