A recent study reports that obesity is linked to late-onset psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). By contrast being of normal weight may be associated with an earlier onset of the disease adn HLA-B27.
There is a significant unmet need with regard to counseling and managing SLE and APS patients who become pregnant or who may be planning for pregnancy.
The Washington Post has reported on the variable laws, views and use of marijuana in treating pain.
Currently 1.4 million patients in 28 states use legal medical marijuana for a variety of medical conditions - chronic pain being one.
Legislative changes that have allowed widespread use of medical marijuana has risen as the opioid abuse crisis has peaked in the US.
Despite recent advances in treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), MANY patients on existent biological therapy fail to achieve remission. Therapies with novel mechanisms of actions, great efficacy and well balanced safety profile remain an unmet need.
Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights from the past week on RheumNow.com:
Joint arthroplasty has grown into a billion dollar industry worldwide. However, optimal timing and the success of total joint replacements in younger patient groups has not been well studied.Age related life-time risks for revision surgery were calculated using 63,158 patients from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink undergoing total hip or total knee replacement surgery between 1991 and 2011.
Sirukumab is a human monoclonal antibody that selectively binds to the interleukin-6 (IL-6) and is being developed for use in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other inflammatory diseases.
Investigators have reported the results of the pivotal phase 3 study (SIRROUND-T), testing the efficacy and safety of sirukumab in RA.
Switching biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (bDMARD) therapy after failure of a first bDMARD for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) can be effective, according to a review of the literature and PsA consensus treatment recommendations.
Patients often characterize certain foods as “inflammatory” or “anti-inflammatory” as they combat their arthritis. Diet continues to be a prime issue with patients, while physicians may be indifferent to or unaware of any advantages of dietary manipulation to help manage rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Multiple patient- and disease-related factors -- including medication use -- were associated with the development of severe infections among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, a Spanish study found.
This appears to be the year for biologic treatments in giant cell artertis (GCA).A novel trial from Dr. Carol Langford and colleagues has reported the results of a 49 patient trial of newly-diagnosed or relapsing GCA where all patients were treated with abatacept 10 mg/kg IV on days 1, 15, 29, week 8, together with prednisone.
Biosimilar reports is an ongoing series dedicated to advances, discussions and developments in biosimilar agents intended for use by rheumatologists. Many of these items were compiled from news sources, journal articles and regulatory documents and are cited and linked within each section.
Dr. Jack Cush reviews this week's news and information from the 2017 RWCS meeting in Maui.
Baricitinib is a novel inhibitor of Janus kinases JAK1 and JAK2 that has been extensively studied in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Baricitinib (AKA Oluminant) was recently approved by the EMA for use in Europe at a once daily dose of 4 mg per day. Regulatory approval in the USA is pending with the FDA.
As a musculoskeletal radiologist, I work every day with rheumatologists. I have been in practice for approximately 17 years and had a musculoskeletal radiology fellowship prior to establishing my practice. I greatly enjoy working with rheumatologists and their patients and, like you, want to get the most out of the imaging studies you order.
As such, here are my top ten things every rheumatologist should know when ordering imaging:
