With Autoimmunity, Checkpoint Inhibitors Can Be Used

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Among patients with pre-existing autoimmune diseases who developed cancer and were treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), flares of the underlying disease and other immune-related adverse events were common, a retrospective study conducted in France showed.

Bisphosphonate Use Associated with Reduced Mortality

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The Journal of Bone and Mineral Research (JBMR) has published a report showing that a reduction in the rate of bone loss by nitrogen bisphosphonates was associated with a 40% lower mortality risk.

War on RA – Part 4: Desperado – Time to Open the Gate

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Do you know what the best-selling album of all time is? Could it be Bing Crosby? U2? Fleetwood Mac? AC/DC? I know, it’s Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” right? Actually it’s the Eagles Greatest Hits – it surpassed Jackson’s Thriller in August 2019 as the best-selling with a total of 36 million copies sold since it was released in 1976. Wait! Are we not Rheumatologists? Aren’t we supposed to be discussing rheumatoid arthritis?

Enbrel Patent Battle Won by Amgen

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The ugly, legal, financial underbelly of US biosimilar drug development showed up in court last Friday, when a U.S. judge upheld two of Amgen's patents for Enbrel, thwarting a legal challenge by Novartis/Sandoz over its etanercept-szzs biosimilar, Erelzi. 

RA Disease Activity Drives Lung Complications

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A longitudinal study from the BRASS registry shows that increase rheumatoid arthritis disease activity increases the risk of RA-associated interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD). RA patients without RA-ILD at baseline, enrolled in the Brigham RA Sequential Study (BRASS, 2003–2016), were followed from 2003-2016 with serial clinical, DAS28, serologic and imaging assessments.

NSAIDs Mediate Cardiovascular Risk in OA

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NSAIDs have been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but does this also hold for osteoarthritis (OA) patients.

RheumNow Podcast – Tricked Up Lupus Criteria (8.9.19)

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com, including new SLE criteria, ULT in gout and MSU reductions, IVIG in ANCA vasculitis and non-TNF biologics outperform the TNF inhibitors.

Vitamin D Supplements Fail to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes - DUH!

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A NEJM report shows that the use of vitamin D3 supplementation (4000 IU per day) in those without diabetes or vitamin D deficiency failed to significantly lower risk of type 2 diabetes (compared to placebo).

Increasing Lung Disease in Systemic JIA

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A single-center cohort analysis shows that lung disease is increasingly seen in children with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA), especially those complicated by macrophage activation syndrome. Prior to 2013, reports of pulmonary disease in SJIA were rare, but since there have been increasing reports of alveolar hypertension, interstitial lung disease and pulmonary alveolar proteinosis; often with a high mortality rate. As such, since 2014, the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center has seen an increase in lung disease and severe lung disease in SJIA.

Periodontal Disease and P. gingivalis Increased in CCP+ Pre-Clinical RA

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A cross-sectional study 48 CCP–positive "at risk" individuals (without arthritis) were shown to have an increased prevalence of periodontitis and P gingivalis when compared to 26 early RA (ERA) and 32 controls.

New EULAR/ACR Classification Criteria for SLE

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The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) have jointly developed new classification criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE); prompted by the need for criteria that were both highly sensitive and specific. The net result is improved sensitivity and specificity, but the use of positive ANA requirement along with a longer list of weighted criteria ensures its utility in SLE research (including early or latent SLE), but not clinical practice.

War on RA - Part 3: Useless Drugs

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We have options that are endless – we have 28 biologics in rheumatology; 19 approved for RA in the last 20 years, but 15 of these are me-too copies or biosimilars. We currently have 2 JAK inhibitors and may have 3 or 4 by year end. But what we really need is the right drug, at the right time, in the right patient – but how will we know.