News
Are You a Super Rheum?
Several weeks ago, at the Rheumatology Winter Clinical Symposia, an interesting debate between Drs. Orrin Troum and Marty Bergman hashed over the concept of whether rheumatologists should sub-specialize with a practice, research or career devoted to one disease ("Super Rheum"), or be "selective" about what disorders and diseases they would treat or just be a generalist.
Apremilast Equals MTX in Palmoplantar Psoriasis
Palmoplantar psoriasis (PPP) is a therapeutically challenging variant of psoriasis; nonetheless, a prospective, randomized, active-controlled trial from India suggests that apremilast is effective and safe in patients with PPP.
Potent Topical Corticosteroids and the Risk of Osteoporotic Fractures
JAMA Dermatology has published a Danish national cohort study showing that potent topical corticosteroid use was associated with an increased risk of osteoporosis and major osteoporotic fractures with a dose-response association for cumulative use.
MDA-5 Antibodies and Juvenile Dermatomyositis
A multicentre, retrospective study examined MSA profiles (by immunoprecipitation) from 96 juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (JIIM) at nine pediatric rheumatology centres in Japan. MSA were found in 85 of 96 cases with over 90% of patients having one of the following three MSA
Enthesitis Responses to Secukinumab in Spondylitis Patients
Schett and colleagues studies the secukinumab (an IL-17 inhibitor) response in patients from 3 clinical trials with enthesitis and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and demonstrated consistent efficacy with improved enthesitis scores at both peripheral and axial sites.
Rheumatic Patients Are at Risk for COVID Death
MedPage Today
Patients with rheumatic diseases who developed COVID-19 were at increased likelihood of death, with risk factors similar to those seen in the general population but also because of factors specific to their underlying disease and its treatment, analysis of data from an international registry foun
RheumNow Podcast – Listener Questions (3.12.2021)
Dr Jack Cush reviews the news, Journal reports, CDC guidelines and viewer questions from the last week on RheumNow.com
Low Anaphylaxis Risk with COVID mRNA Vaccines
JAMA reports a safety survey of hospital employees showing that the risk of anaphylaxis from mRNA vaccines is 2.47 per 10,000 individuals.
COVID-19-Related Deaths in Rheumatic Disease Patients
There is a growing body of evidence regarding COVID-19 outcomes (including death) in rheumatic disease patients; analysis of a German registry shows that poor control, rituximab, sulfasalazine and other immunosuppressives could be risk factors for COVID-related death.
Comparison of Three Coronavirus Vaccines
On Feb. 27, the Food and Drug Administration announced it has issued an emergency use authorization for Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose Covid vaccine, making it the third COVID-19 vaccine to be commercially available. We've compiled a comparison table and some key information relevant to your delivering patient guidance henceforth.
CDC: Interim Guidance for COVID Vaccinated People
Among 330 million Americans, roughly 32.1 million have been fully vaccinated and 61.1 million have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine (as of March 8th).
Low IBD Risk with IL-17 Inhibition
Incident or worsening colitis is a rare complication of IL-17 inhibitor therapy; a real world study confirms very low rates of new IBD in patients starting secukinumab.
Actemra FDA Approved for Systemic Sclerosis Interstitial Lung Disease
Genentech announced Thursday that the US Food and Drug Administration approved tocilizumab (Actemra) for the treatment of Systemic Sclerosis-associated Interstitial Lung Disease (SSc-ILD), specifically indicated for slowing the rate of decline in pulmonary function in adul