The “Controversies in Vitamin D” International Conference has published their proceedings on vitamin D metabolism, assessment, actions, and supplementation. Interestingly, optimal levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) are still being debated. Varying recommendations by society with significant differences in assays.
Infectious conditions are a significant cause of mortality in autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARD). Among patients hospitalized with an infection, we compared in-hospital and long-term (3-year) mortality between those with and without ARD.
A metanalysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on treatments of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), confirm the efficacy of several targeted small-molecule drugs.
In a new study, researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have uncovered insights as to the relationship between interferons and lupus, which affects up to 1.5 million Americans.
A long-term hydroxychloroquine users study found that 2.7% developed retinopathy, and identified risk factors as increasing age, female sex, chronic kidney disease stage 3+ and tamoxifen use.
Patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty using a combination of paracetamol, ibuprofen, and dexamethasone, had optimal responses with the lowest morphine consumption, and fewer adverse events.
On May 7th, the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) hosted its annual Capitol Hill fly-in with rheumatology leaders nationwide to champion the need for crucial reforms to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS). The goal is to enhance the payment system’s predictability and stability, ensuring continued access to care for patients by adequately supporting healthcare providers.
As part of the University of Colorado Department of Medicine’s annual Research Day, held on April 23, faculty member Christine Swanson, MD, MCR, described her National Institutes of Health-funded clinical research on whether adequate sleep can help prevent osteoporosis.
A systematic review of the effectiveness and safety of pharmacological treatments for adult-onset Still’s disease (AOSD) supports the use of either IL-1 or IL-6 inhibitors.
An international cohort of children with systemic Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (Still's disease) validated the systemic Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score 10 (sJADAS10), a disease activity measure distinguish patients with inactive disease, minimal disease activity, moderate disease activity, and high disease activity.
A metanalysis shows that social determinants of health adversely impacts patients with lupus nephritis. Lupus nephritis is a significant complication of SLE, often with dramatic increases in morbid and mortal risks. Outcomes are likely to be augmented by social determinants of health, including socio-economic status, and social risk factors.
Positive findings with color Doppler ultrasound were enough to diagnose giant cell arteritis (GCA) accurately without need for confirmation with temporal artery biopsy (TAB), a prospective study indicated.
Dr. Jack Cush muses on the news, journal reports, FDA announcements and the 2024 BSR abstracts just released.
The Rotterdam study shows that weight-bearing recreational physical activity caused more incident knee osteoarthritis (KOA), but mainly when there was low muscle mass. KOA risk is traditionally linked to either obesity or injury. This study assesses whether muscle mass may influence osteoarthritis risk.
A cohort analysis of dermatomyositis (DM) patients starting immunomodulators finds that methotrexate use was not associated with an increased risk of interstitial lung disease (ILD).ILD affects ~23% of DM patients and the oft used MTX is has a low risk of pneumonitis and pulmonary fibrosis in 0.3% to 11.6% (in RA), respectively. Such risks have caused concern regarding the potential benefits vs. risk of using MTX in ILD.
