Rheumatology News reports the results of a novel trial presented at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology meeting in Copenhagen.
I have a 21 yr. old lupus nephritis patient on mycophenolate, hydroxychloroquine and prednisone 40 mg per day. She says both her current nephrologist and her prior pediatric rheumatologist told her NOT to get pneumococcal and flu vaccines. I thought she is supposed to get them - any comment?
Despite concerns over safety, the FDA Arthritis Advisory Committee voted favorably to approve lesinurad (LES) at a meeting held Friday, October 23, 2015. Overall, panel members felt the potential benefits of LES outweighed the safety concerns reviewed by the FDA presenters.
Vertebral fractures are not uncommon in patients with ankylosing spondylitis and spondyloarthritis. However, they may be difficult to diagnose as they may not present with typical features of an acute fracture, may be overlooked as a disease flare of spondylitis or may only be incidentally found on unrelated imaging studies.
A comparison of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and low-dose cyclophosphamide IV (CYC) in the treatment of lupus nephritis (LN) was examined in 173 patients with class III, IV, or V LN.
A recent analysis of randomized clincal trials (RCT) for the treatment of neuropathic pain has shown in increase in placebo responses. (Citation source http://buff.ly/1LL8yAi)
Continuously elevated serum matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) for 3-6 months predicted 1-year radiographic progression in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a small prospective cohort study in Arthritis Research and Therapy.
Prescription drugs may cost up to 10 times more in the United States than they do in other countries, according to a 2013 Comparative Price Report was released last month by the International Federation of Health Plans (IFHP). Results are based on surveys of the prices of prescription drugs from member plans.
A number of studies have shown that the treat-to-target approach is effective in achieving clinical remission - the ultimate therapeutic goal in patients with early RA.
The OPERA study was a 2-year investigator-initiated, double-blinded, randomized, controlled trial to evaluate the clinical and radiographic outcomes in DMARD naïve, early RA patients who are begun on methotrexate, with or without adalimumab induction therapy.
Lesinurad is a novel URAT-1 inhibitor being developed as a urate-lowering therapy for gout by Astra-Zeneca.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has raised questions about the safety of this new drug as the application for drug approval is slated for review later this week. Specifically, the FDA has concerns over higher death rates, cardiovascular issues and kidney-related side effects for those taking lesinurad.
A recent presentation at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) meeting in Copenhagen showed the long-term outcomes of weight loss in psoriasis.
I think this will be my 35th ACR meeting. Meetings such as ACR are family events as much as they are scientific events, meant to be celebrated with food and your favorite legal beverage, which in my case is wine.
A reprise of a prior blog on the "best kinds of arthritis" to have. This time with more commentary and good news.
Zhang and colleagues from Boston analyzed patients with physician diagnosed sleep apnea from The Health Improvement Network in the UK and compared these with 5 controls (age, sex, BMI matched). They studied 9,865 patients with sleep apnea and 43,598 controls. Using a Cox proportional hazards models, the team analyzed the incidence rates of gout with relation to sleep apnea.
A retrospective analysis examined whether it's better to initiate urate-lowering therapy (ULT) during or after an attack of acute gout.
