RheumNow Week in Review – 21 October 2016 Save

Dr. Cush Reviews Highlights from the past week on RheumNow.com. Register to receive free daily rheumatology news written by rheumatologists for rheumatologists. Download the podcast at iTunes.com.

1. The Japanese SURPRISE study looked 223 RA MTX-IR patients Rx with either TCZ+MTX or TCZ: earlier DAS28 Responses & less Xray damage seen with add-on vs switch therapy. http://buff.ly/2dPJXk6
2. Psoriasis patients failing TNF inhibitor shows secondary failure more likely than primary failure to respond to a 2nd TNFi. http://buff.ly/2eniMyr
3. UK prevalence study shows only one-third of ankylosing spondylitis is treated by rheumatologists. http://buff.ly/2e8a1tO
4. 2 studies of 169 RA patients shows that US guided Bx for synovial tissue shown to be 82-93% success and with very rare AE (ie, hemarthrosis) https://t.co/BOlX5qIgNQ https://t.co/sOiTXz9PmD
5. Study of 104 early spondyloarthritis pts shows SI xrays readings maybe unreliable, even with experienced radiologists https://t.co/j7jV0s0kzr
6. Postural abnormalities and worse spinal metrics in Ankylosing spondylitis is associated with significant balance issues. https://t.co/j9nNwjJSQp
7. Surgical patients with Sleep Apnea at higher risk of atrial fibrillation and venous thromboembolism (preliminary results) https://t.co/iNxafbC60v
8. Pregabalin/Lyrica shown to be effective in treating abdominal pain associated with irritable bowel syndrome. https://t.co/Ah6gTYmYdE
9. TNF inhibitor use in 16 renal transplant patients with good efficacy, no decline in GFR after 2yrs of followup, but 50% had Serious infections, https://t.co/2UHyaiVOpM
10. Just presented: the Nor-Switch Study shows it's safe to switch to a biosimilar
11. Inflectra Biosimilar estimated to ship in Late November 2016 
12. Low-Molecular Weight Heparin Does Not Reduce Pregnancy Complications
13. Review of Herpes Zoster with Immunosuppression and Autoimmune Disease