Hepatitis A Outbreak in San Diego
On Sept. 1, 2017, the San Diego County declared a local public health emergency due to the ongoing hepatitis A outbreak in the county.
News
Tofacitinib Scores in TNF inhibitor Resistant Psoriatic Arthritis
Mease et al has reported in the NEJM the results of a phase 3 trial showing tofacitinib (Tofa) to be significantly more effective than placebo in active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients who previously failed to respond to tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) therapies.
Rheumatologists are Slow to Change DMARDs
The paradigm of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) therapy mandates early diagnosis and aggressive treatment. Yet a recent cohort study has shown that RA patients with moderate to high disease activity (MHDAS) were met with infrequent DMARD adjustments; with median time to DMARD adjustment being 5 months and median time to low disease activity (LDAS) was roughly 10 months.
Gout Increases Risk of Stroke Moreso than MI
Gout coassociates with many of the disorders within the metabolic syndrome - diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and obesity. Not surprisingly, gout is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but the risk magnitude for myocardial infarction (MI), and stroke are unclear.
Stelara FDA Approved for Use in Adolescent Psoriasis
Johnson & Johnson has announced that they have received an expanded FDA approval for the use of ustekinumab (Stelara) in treating adolescent patients, aged 12 and over, with moderate to severe plaque psoriais.
High Drug Discontinuations and Nonadherence in Fibromyalgia
Compliance and adherence was shown to be quite poor in fibromyalgia (FM) patients, with high rates of drug discontinuation and greater than 60% demonstrated low adherence.
Spinal X-ray Inhibition in Ankylosing Spondylitis Best Achieved by Control of Activity
Although tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) are highly effective (on clinical grounds) in ankylosing spondylitis (AS), proof that they may alter the course of spinal radiographic progression has been scant.
13 October 2017 The RheumNow Week in Review
The RheumNow Week in Review discusses the past week's news, journal articles and highlights from RheumNow.com. In this week's report, Dr. Jack Cush discusses a novel antiviral drug or the use of stem cell therapy for scleroderma, rituximab in HSP, when to withdraw NSAIDS in RA, and congrats to PAs and NPs!
The Big Need - NPs and PAs
Despite being one of the most satisfying of medical subspecialties, the number of U.S. rheumatologists is about to sharply decline. These data were presented at the 2016 ACR meeting, where it was shown that the estimated total number of U.S.
Novel Gel Drug Delivery Developed for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Scientists at the Institute for Basic Science have invented a hydrogel capable of delivering drug at sites of inflammation in disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Arthritis Burden over $303 Billion Annually in U.S.
Arthritis of all types in the U.S. carried an economic burden of $303.5 billion in 2013, nearly 1% of the gross domestic product that year, according to a CDC analysis.
BSR Guidelines on Lupus Management
In the UK, NICE has accredited the British Society of Rheumatology (BSR) to develop a guidance document on the management of systemic lupus erythematosus in adults. The last published guidelines for lupus were published in 2008 by EULAR and in 2012 by the ACR.
