A network meta-analysis of pain outcomes in patients with acute osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (VCFs) showed short-term success with calcitonin and NSAIDs in decreasing pain during activity, but long-term benefits were superior for teriparatide compared to bisphosphonates.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com. This week with a focus on fingers and better prescriptive follow through.

A new chapter may have begun in the exciting story of "immune reset" therapy for difficult-to-treat autoimmune diseases, with a patient with severe refractory lupus obtaining drug-free remission after treatment with an antibody product normally used in multiple myeloma.

Smolen and colleagues have published a subanalysis of the EXXELERATE study that showed while certolizumab pegol [CZP] concentrations and efficacy was unaffected by high titers of rheumatoid factor (RF), patients treated with adalimumab had a blunted response in the face of high RF titers.

Urticarial vasculitis is rare and the causes often go undiagnosed. A Medscape recent overview highlights key features in the diagnosis and management of this rare disorder.

The results of a randomised, open-label, head-to-head trial shows that adalimumab was superior to ciclosporin in preventing uveitis relapses in patients with severe Behçet's disease.

Episodes of Raynaud's phenomenon, a common feature of systemic sclerosis (SSc, also known as scleroderma), were more severe not only at low temperatures, as one would expect, but also during summertime heat, a multinational study found.

Glucocorticoids are widely prescribed as anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive agents. This results in at least 1% of the population using chronic glucocorticoid therapy being at risk for glucocorticoid-induced adrenal insufficiency. This risk is dependent on the dose, duration and potency of the glucocorticoid, route of administration, and individual susceptibility.

A national cohort study shows that continuous use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) protects agains cardiovascular (CV) events in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com - including tips on steroids, MAS, and myositis testing.

Alcohol is a risk factor for gout and flares. While the inciting potential differs among alcohol types, are these differences sex specific?JAMA Network Open has published a cohort study from the UK Biobank shows that higher total alcohol consumption was associated with a higher risk of gout for both sexes, more strongly for men than for women. This was especially so for consumption of beer or cider.

Sjögren disease (SjD) is highly prevalent, but diagnosis may be challenged if anti-SSA antibodies or a labial salivary gland biopsy are negative. A recent cohort analysis suggests a novel autoantibody profile has predictive value SSA negative SjD and also in those with a positive labial biopsy.

A retrospective study in giant cell arteritis (GCA) patients suggests there is no added value using higher dose, intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP) in early GCA.

A Danish registry study has shown that amongst those patients who develop inflammatory arthritis (IA), antibiotics use was more frequent when compared to the background population (BP). 

Published guidelines on lupus management urge that female patients plan and prepare carefully for pregnancy, and use contraceptives when it's not intended -- but these recommendations are only rarely followed, a registry study suggested.