A polulation-based study from Sweden has shown that treatment with tocilizumab, abatacept, rituximab, or tumor necrosis factor (TNFi) inhibitors does not affect the risk of malignant neoplasms among patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Specifically, use of a first or second TNFi or biologic DMARDs (bDMARD) does confer a different cancer risk when compared to conventional DMARDS in biologic–naive RA patients.
GlaxoSmithKline has announced that the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted unanimously in support of the efficacy, safety and approval of its herpes zoster subunit (HZ/su) vaccine (called Shingrix) for the prevention of herpes zoster (shingles) in adults ages 50 and over.
On Friday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that will not approve Johnson & Johnson’s rheumatoid arthritis drug sirukumab, stating further data and study would be needed to establish its safety.
A one-year prospective study of 624 patients undergoing autoantibody testing for anti-SS-A and/or anti-SS-B autoantibodies finds that isolated anti-SS-B autoantibodies was not associated with features or the diagnosis of any specific connective tissue diseases (CTD).
The RheumNow Week in Review discusses the past week's news, journal articles and highlights from RheumNow.com. This week's report discusses survey results on membranous nephritis and patient perceptions of steroids, nonadherence, celebrity arthritis and IgG4 treatment.
The Journal of Bone and Mineral Research reports that older men with undiagnosed vertebral fractures are likely to report new or worsening back pain. (Citation source bit.ly/2y9rMiZ)
PLOS reports greater than 90% efficacy when rituximab (RTX) is used to treat patients with IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD).
Busy days, overbooked patients and EMR overloads will certainly derail your day, especially if you don’t have a system to optimize efficiency. However, in your harried efforts you may overlook several simple, smart, if not crucial, tasks while seeing your next patient.
The NEJM reports that in high risk post-menopausal women, romosozumab for 12 months followed by alendronate resulted in a significantly lower fracture than alendronate alone.
A French retrospective study of 318 Takayasu's arteritis (TA) patients shows that 50% of patients will relapse and experience a vascular complication ≤10 years from diagnosis.
The CDC has reported its 2013 and 2014 prevalence statistics for arthritis and other chronic medical conditions affecting U.S. adults aged ≥18 years. Data is drawn from the ongoing Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a state-based, telephone survey of noninstitutionalized adults. Data herein is self-reported arthritis (OA, RA, Gout, FM) and is quantified by state and metropolitan areas.
Annals of Rheumatic Disease has published a Danish population based study demonstrating the high mortality rates seen with interstitial lung disease (ILD).
Between the years 2004 and 2016, researchers identified 679 RA patients with RA-ILD and matched these (age, gender) against 11 722 RA patients without ILD.
The RheumNow Week in Review discusses the past week's news, journal articles and highlights from RheumNow.com. This week's report discusses metabolic syndrome in lupus, bisphosphonate holidays, vasculitis and vascular inflammation, vaccination, and the repeated wonders of Vitamin D.
A Swedish study has shown that occupational silica exposure increases the incidence rates of sarcoidosis and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in those exposed workers in Swedish iron foundries.
Researchers studied personnel records from 10 iron foundries to identify workers who may be at risk. They examined 2187 silica-exposed male workers exposed for at least 1 year for a total of 23,807 person-years at risk.
Angie is my last patient before lunch. I've known her since her RA diagnosis at age 17 years. And for the last 7 years, she’s matured into a fabulous young woman who has adeptly grown her professional life, her dating life and developed her independence, despite her severely active rheumatoid arthritis. But today I see she has a troubled and anxious look as I greet her.
