The French Vasculitis Study Group has published the results of the MAINRITSAN2 trial designed to  compare individually tailored versus fixed-schedule rituximab (RTX) reinfusion for remission maintenance in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasm antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitides (AAVs). 

I tell my patient’s that I empathize with them. I understand that they do not want a rheumatologic condition, nor do they want to take our medications and are disheartened when I tell them that we have no cures. But, if we flip that proverbial coin over, my goal for their care is to improve their quality of life.In rheumatology, we have many ways to accomplish that goal for our patients; from medication management to advocacy and support groups

On Monday, April 23rd the FDA convened the Arthritis Advisory Committee (AAC) to evaluate Lilly’s resubmitted NDA for the approval of the JAK inhibitor baricitinib for use in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The panel included 15 voting members that included 7 rheumatologists, 3 epidemiologist-statisticians, a hematologist, 2 patient representatives and 2 pharmacologists.

The monoclonal antibody epratuzumab showed promise as a B-cell depleting agent in patients with concomitant systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and Sjogren's syndrome, a post-hoc analysis of two phase III trials found.

FDA staff remain worried about the safety of baricitinib, an oral JAK inhibitor intended for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, according to briefing documents prepared for an advisory committee meeting on Monday.

The PRECISION study took 11 years and 24,081 patients (90% OA; 10% RA). It showed that celecoxib had fewer gastrointestinal events, fewer renal events and less ATPC cardiac events compared to ibuprofen - with an 18% reduction in major CV events and a 32% reduction in all-cause mortaility compared to ibuprofen.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com.  A second life for Syk kinase, Vitamin D talk, VTE, regulatory hearings and the Lupus clinic edge.

I suspect that everyone in rheumatology has a special place in their hearts for lupus patients. Their disease is so cruel, and we have so little to offer them, but the young women (and some men) that I treat keep battling on. The longer I have cared for them, the more I wanted to do for them. Managing their illness alone did not seem like enough. 

JAMA Internal Medicine reports that in the USA, those who smoke cigar, pipe, or cigarette have a significant overall  mortality risk, and a much highers cancer mortality risk compared to nonsmokers. The National Longitudinal Mortality Study collected baseline survey data from 1985 through 2011 and included 357,420 participants reporting on their use of cigar, pipes, or cigarettes.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) has published new research on the mechanistic link between the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) "shared epitope" (SE) risk alleles and environmental triggers such as cigarette smoke that leads to joint inflammation and bony destruction. 

A systematic review in the Journal of the American Dental Association evaluated the safety and efficacy of analgesics and foundp opioids less effective than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) alone or in combination with acetaminophen when treating dental pain.

Cush and Dao are at it again. This time it's whether men or women are better patients. Cush says men are better patients; Dao says Er, not so fast bub!  This is their light-hearted, gender biased debate on the best patients: Men vs. Women.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) concludes current scientific evidence is insufficient regarding the use of vitamin D and calcium, alone or in combination, to prevent fractures in men and premenopausal women. The USPSTF recommends against daily supplementation with 400 IU or less of vitamin D and 1,000 mg or less of calcium to prevent fractures in postmenopausal women. Current scientific evidence is insufficient regarding the use

SOBI has announced that Kineret (anakinra) has been approved by the European Commission (EC) for the treatment of Still’s disease (Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis [SJIA] and Adult-Onset Still’s Disease [AOSD]), in all 28 European Union (EU) member states. Still's disease is a rare systemic multi-organ disorder of auto-inflammatory nature that affects approximately 25,000 children and adults in the EU.

A recent meeting (April 9-12) of the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) considered the problem of dosing errors with methotrexate (MTX), citing "continued reports of overdose."