A population based study from Taiwan shows that Sjogren's syndrome, to have a prevalence of 0.05%. The prevalence of the syndrome, however, was 10 times higher among women (0.10%) compared to men (0.01%). Overall, having an affected first-degree relative with Sjogren's syndrome carried an adjusted relative risk (RR) of 12.37 (95% CI: 9.54-16.05) for the disease, the RR being 13.24 higher (95% CI: 10.15-17.27) for an affected female r

Study by Dashkova et al finds males less likely to have their bone density checked, but suffered worse outcomes. "We were surprised at how big a difference we found between men and women regarding osteoporosis," study author Dr. Irina Dashkova, a geriatric fellow at North Shore-LIJ Health System in New Hyde Park, N.Y., said in a health system news release.

The danger model was proposed by Matzinger as an alternative (or complement) to the traditional self-non-self (SNS) model of autoimmunity. It postulates that the immune system decides to start an immune response if a potential threat is able to induce harm in the tissues, in counterpart to the SNS-model where foreignness is a fundamental precondition.

The FDA has granted adalimumab (Humira) orphan drug designation for the investigational treatment of moderate-to-severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) (Hurley Stage II and Hurley Stage III disease).  HS is a painful, chronic inflammatory skin disease for which there is no known cure and no approved medication.

"As scholars of disease have noted, RA today appears to be a less severe disease than it was when I started my career in the 1970s. Then, patients routinely ‘went up in smoke’ and rapidly became crippled, wasting away in a state we called ‘burnt out’. Life expectancy with advanced RA could approach that of a malignancy but now, in some studies, patients with RA do as well as the general population....."

Lancet article on the increasing prevalence of gout shows a rate of 2.5% in the UK that has increased 67% in the last 15 years.  Nonetheless, fewer than half were counseled on the diagnosis or urate-lowering therapy and only 18% received urate-lowering treatment. In the U.S., the prevalence of gout has grown from 6/1000 in 1960 to 26/1000 in 2010;  rising from 1.1 million to 8.1 million in 2010.

Pooled analyses of the tanezumab (a nerve growth factor inhibitor) phase 3 studies was presented at the 2015 Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) World Congress. Safety and efficacy data from 2,979 patients with moderate-to-severe hip or knee OA (25% had severe OA) is detailed in this report.

A Finnish early RA register studied 14,878 incident RA patients from 2000-2008 and identified 1157 deaths.  Patients receiving DMARDs and MTX had lower mortality rates. The standardized moratility ratio for the entire cohort was reduced (0.57, 95% CI 0.52 to 0.62).

HLA-B27 is found 6.1% of the US population, but with is seen in >90% patients with ankylosing spondylitis. HLA-B27 increases risk of spondylitis, uveitis and heart block. [Image credit: "HLA-B*2705" by Pdeitiker - Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons]

In 2012, a Medscape survey of US physicians revealed rheumatology as the most satisfying of medical specialties. This came as a surprise to many as rheumatologists see themselves as the Rodney Dangerfields of medical specialists.

May 10 was World Lupus Day. Among the many online discussions about lupus comes a recent survey that examines lupus patient and physician impressions regarding communication. In a multinational survey of 905 patients, many admitted to having difficulty describing symptoms to their physician and underreport the impact of lupus on their lives.

According to the Federal Trade Commission biosimilars have the potential to save the U.S. healthcare system $250 billion through 2022. Furthermore, the global biosimilars market, according to an analysis by Frost & Sullivan, “will see exponential growth” over the next decade. This growth will not just save the healthcare system money. It can also improve patient outcomes and be a significant economic driver.

Hepatic enzyme elevations with TNF inhibitor use is not uncommon.