Growing Tick Population Comes with Health Concerns
CNN has published a recent government report from the Tick-Borne Disease Working Group that suggests the US tick population is growing and may bring with it an increase in tick-related illnesses.
News
Pilot Data on Rituximab in Henoch-Schonlein Purpura
Management of Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP) can be challenging as supportive care and avoidance of corticosteroids are often insufficient options. A new series of case reports and literature review of steroid refractory HSP suggests that rituximab may be effective in reducing hospital admissions, overall steroid use, and is capable of inducing remission.
Scleroderma Expert Treatment Preferences
Frustration may be the word that best characterizes many scleroderma management plans - owing to a lack of trials, lack of agreement and lack of clear guidance on management.
Chikungunya Virus Vaccine Developed
Lancet reports on a new vaccine for Chikungunya fever (MV-CHIK) demonstraing excellent safety, tolerability and good immunogenicity, independent of pre-existing immunity against the vector. MV-CHIK is a promising vaccine for the prevention of chikungunya fever.
Subclinical Heart Inflammation Seen in RA
Subclinical myocardial inflammation is common among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and is associated with articular disease activity, researchers reported.
Pre-Diabetes Associated Risk for Arthritis, Obesity and Physical Inactivity
The current MMWR reports that arthritis is seen in nearly one-third of adults with prediabetes and that more than half of such patients are obese and not engaged in regular physical activity.
MMWR: Death by Firearms
The CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) reports that during 2015–2016 there was a total of 27,394 firearm homicides and 44,955 firearm suicides among US residents, with 12% and 5% of events occuring in children 10–19 years.
CIRT Trial - Methotrexate Fails at Cardiovascular Prevention
Methotrexate has been shown to reduce cardiovascular (CV) deaths in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Given that inflammation underlies the pathogenesis of atherothrombosis, Dr. Paul Ridker and colleagues studied the value of low dose methotrexate (MTX) in preventing cardiovascular events.
RheumNow Weekly Podcast – 3 Wiseguy Rheumatologists (11.9.18)
Dr Jack Cush reviews the News and Journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com. Be sure to check out our upcoming meeting in March 2019 - RheumNow Live.
Intensive Patient Education Does Not Improve Low Back Pain Care
JAMA reports on a randomized clinical trial of 202 adults with acute low back pain showing the addition of intensive patient education failed to improve pain outcomes.
E/M Guidelines: Right Road, Wrong Direction
Last July, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed new E/M guidelines for office visits with physicians. It issued the final guidelines on November 1, with a few tweaks.
Should Immunoglobulins be Monitored with Rituximab Use?
Boston researchers have found that in a large cohort study of patients receiving rituximab (RTX), most were not being monitored for hypogammaglobulinemia, despite the observed significant increase in severe infections and increased mortality in RTX treated patients.
Musculoskeletal Events with Statin Use
Analysis of the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System data examined the association between statins' musculoskeletal adverse events (MAEs).
Guidelines for Patellofemoral Pain
New recommendations have been published in the Journal of Athletic Training on the management of patellofemoral pain (PFP).
IgG4-Related Disease: First Draft Criteria Presented at ACR 2018
As Dr. John Stone, MD, MPH recounted in his presentation regarding the new ACR/EULAR Classification Criteria for IgG4-Related Disease (IgG4-RD), only 15 years prior, IgG4-related disease was an unknown entity in the medical community.