No End in Sight for the Shingrix Vaccine Shortage
There is a national shortage of a new shingles vaccine, Shingrix, which is a problem for those who want to start the vaccine and those seeking to receive their second and final injection.
News
IL-23 Outduels IL-17 Inhibition in Psoriasis
Johnson & Johnson has announced the preliminary results of its phase 3 ECLIPSE study; a head-to-head trial wherein guselkumab (Tremfya; an IL-23 inhibitor) was compared to secukinumab (Cosentyx; an IL-17 inhibitor) in adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.
CV Risks Similar in Systemic Sclerosis and Rheumatoid Arthritis
Interactions between disease-related inflammatory processes and the development of several morbidities have been well-studied in RA, particularly heart disease. This is not the case for the often-lethal SSc (estimated standardized mortality ratio between 2.5 and 4.0).
Genetic Diagnosis for Previously Undiagnosed Disorders
The NEJM has reported the NIH's Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) study results of genetically identifying new diseases from prospectively followed persons with undiagnosed disorders. The UDN was formed in 2014 as a network of seven clinical sites, two sequencing cores, a coordinating center, central biorepository, a metabolomics core, and a model organisms screening center. It was established to apply a multidisciplinary model in the evaluation of the most challenging cases and to identify the biologic characteristics of newly discovered diseases.
SLE and Risk of Malignancy
The risk for cancer in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients has been inconsistently studied. A new metanalysis shows that SLE has an increased risk for 16 specific cancers and decreased risk for prostate cancer and cutaneous melanoma.
Patients Don't Always Tell the Truth
Sometimes patients withhold information from their doctors, and a new study suggests that as much as 60 - 80% of patients consciously omit information to their doctors, despite knowing this may bear on their health and well-being.
RheumNow Podcast – Can RA Be Prevented (12.7.18)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and new journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com:
Chronic Kidney Disease Increasing in the U.S.A.
JAMA has published the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study showing that that, from 2002 to 2016, the US burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD) increased, with some states exhibiting more than twice the burden as others.
Deprescribing to Battle Polypharmacy
The Gerontological Society of America has published a report calling for deprescribing as a means of managing polypharmacy in the elderly.
The Benefits of a Lupus Clinic
A comparative cohort study assessing the quality of care in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) suggests that a dedicated lupus clinic has better quality measure performance compared to lupus management in a general rheumatology clinic.
PRAIRI Study - Can RA Be Prevented?
B-cell depletion may offer a means of delaying the onset of clinical arthritis in adults at high risk, according to the PRAIRI study - a proof-of-mechanism study in pre-clinical RA patients.
New ACR/NPF Guidelines for Management of Psoriatic Arthritis
The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) have released a joint treatment guideline for psoriatic arthritis (PsA) that provides evidence-based pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic recommendations and includes recommendations on other management issues inclu
Dendrimer Nanocarrier Delivers IGF-1 to Degenerative Cartilage
Researchers from MIT have developed a novel treatment for osteoarthritis (OA) by using dendrimer-based nanocarriers to deliver insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) to chondrocytes within joint cartilage and in animal models have shown when these nanocarriers injected into rat knees in models of O
Limited Impact of Vitamin D Supplementation
A systematic review of 81 studies on vitamin D concludes that vitamin D supplementation does not prevent fractures or falls, or have clinically meaningful effects on bone mineral density.
