Blacks with Systemic Sclerosis May Have More Severe Disease

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New research presented this week at ACR Convergence, the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting, shows that Black people living with systemic sclerosis may have more severe disease and worse prognosis than patients in other racial or ethnic groups, and these worrying disparities may be driven by several socioeconomic factors (Abstract #1854). This poster will be presented Tuesday morning,  November 9, 2021 in the Clinical Poster III (1836–1861) section on Systemic Sclerosis & Related Disorders.

JAK-pot Study: Cycling JAK Inhibitors Effective in Difficult-to-Treat RA

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New research presented this week at ACR Convergence, the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting, shows that people with difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis who do not have success with one Janus kinase inhibitor (JAK inhibitor) can achieve success either cycling to other JAKi medic

Ultra-Low Dose Rituximab Controls Disease Activity in RA

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New research presented this week at ACR Convergence, the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting, shows that in one study, the majority of rheumatoid arthritis patients on an ultra-low dose of the drug rituximab maintained low disease activity for up to four years, and rarely needed to switch to other biologic drugs or glucocorticoids to control their disease (Abstract #1443). 

Management of Immune-Related Adverse Events - ASCO Guideline

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The American Society of Clinical Oncology, Inc (ASCO) has updated its guidelines and recommendations for the management of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICPi) therapy. Below are select statements from this guideline.

Serologically Active, Clinically Quiescent SLE

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Lupus management is guided by assessment of both clinical and serologic features; but what happens with the patient with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) serologically active, but clinically quiescent (SACQ)?  A large cohort study shows that nearly one-third of such patients may flare

Clues to Survival and Mortality with VEXAS Syndrome

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New research to be presented this week at ACR Convergence, the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting, shows a relationship between genotype, bone marrow failure and survival in patients with the rare autoinflammatory disease VEXAS syndrome, which was only identified in 2020.

Large GWAS Study Reveals Genetic Basis for Osteoarthritis Phenotypes

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Cell has published the results of a multinational, GWAS meta-analyses of 826,690 individuals that included 177,517 osteoarthritis patients, finding 52 previously unknown osteoarthritis (OA) genetic risk variants and linking OA genetic risks with joint distribution and pain

RheumNow Podcast – Like Father, Like Daughter (10.29.2021)

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Bad things happen when our patients go into the ICU and it's not always due to the disease. Good things happen when we rise from sitting. And guess what? Rheumatologists are setting cardiology straight about hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine. This, and a special recognition of parent-child rheumatologists, along with the news and articles from this week on RheumNow.

Biologic Use and the Risk of Serious Infection in Psoriasis Patients

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National Health Data from France examined biologic use in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis, and found the risk of serious infections (SIE) to be increased with some biologics (infliximab and adalimumab), but not others (etanercept, ustekinumab IL-17 and IL-23 inhibitors or apremila

BEAT-LUPUS: Sequential Belimumab After Rituximab in SLE

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The Annals of Internal Medicine reports that targeting B-cells in refractory systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with sequential belimumab after rituximab may significantly reduce dsDNA antibody titers and lessen the number of future severe flares.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Thrombotic Risk Influenced by DMARD Choice

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RA patients have an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) related to disease activity and inflammation, yet a large real-world study of older RA patients shows methotrexate to be associated with a 2-fold increased VTE risk (compared to hydroxychloroquine).

Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections Fail in Ankle Osteoarthritis

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A controlled trial of intra-articular platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections into the ankle of osteoarthritis (OA) patients failed to improve ankle symptoms and function when compared to placebo injections - yet another trial showing that intraarticular injections are seldom beneficial.

Pfizer/Lilly Pull Tanezumab Development

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Today, Lilly and Pfizer announced their global clinical development of the NGF inhibitor, tanezumab, has been discontinued due to recent negative opinions from the EMA and FDA advisory committee.

New Hope for NonAlcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

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The current issue of the NEJM has two articles on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD also called NASH - nonalcoholic steatohepatitis), one dealing with the prognoses, outcomes and mortality of NAFLD and another prospective and promising interventional trial in NASH patients. 

How Should Patients With Autoimmune Diseases Approach COVID Vaccination?

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Healthcare is a personal and individualized relationship between a provider and patient. Each patient is treated according to their particular symptoms and personal health characteristics.