Imaging

Lihi Eder, MD, PhD, on a Pre-Diagnosis Period for Psoriatic Arthritis

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Is there a prodromal phase in psoriatic arthritis (PsA)? And if there is, could this represent an opportunity for earlier diagnosis of PsA?

Lihi Eder, MD, PhD, is a physician-researcher with the University of Toronto Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation. She served as

FDA Approves Taltz for Non-Radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis

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Today Eli Lilly announced that Taltz (ixekizumab) has received FDA approval for the treatment of adults with active non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA). Ixekizumab (an IL-17A inhibitor) would join certolizumab (TNF inhibitor) as the only 2 drugs approved by the FDA for nr-

Systemic Sclerosis Future Therapies and Outcome Measures

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Nagaraja, Khanna and colleagues have published an overview of current and future therapies in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and have reviewed the potential outcome measures for this difficult autoimmune disorder. Notably there have been several novel agents studied in recent years,

Cigarette Smoking and ANCA-Associated Vasculitis

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JAMA Internal Medicine has reported that cigarette smoking associated with an increased odds of having antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody–associated vasculitis (AAV) (especially MPO positive AAV) and is thereby a modifiable risk factor for AAV.

In a case-control study, 473 AAV

German Society of Rheumatology COVID Pandemic Recommendations

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The Annals of Rheumatic Disease has published the preliminary recommendations of the German Society of Rheumatology for the management of Inflammatory rheumatic diseases patients during the SARS-CoV-2/Covid-19 pandemic.

These preliminary recommendations are based on an expert consensus from 17

TNR Grand Rounds - Moving Forward with Telemedicine

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Dr. Alvin Wells gives a primer on Telerheumatology and Telemedicine in the era of COVID-19. This 1 hour Grand Rounds Presentation includes a 30 minute lecture, followed by stimulating 30 minutes of Q&A with a rheumatology attendee audience.

COVID-19 and the Slippery Road of Cytokine Storms

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Early reports on the COVID-19 pandemic allude to a cytokine storm or hyper-inflammation, especially in patients who succumbed to the illness. These conclusions are based on elevated levels of ferritin and other inflammatory markers, drawing comparisons to rare diseases of uncontrolled

RheumNow Podcast – Drive Them Crazy (4.17.20)

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news, journal articles and new ACR COVID-19 guidelines from the past week on RheumNow.com.

COVID-19 Systemic Involvement

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The presentations of the COVID-19 infection have been clearly chronicled with the worrisome onset of sore throat, dry cough, loss of smell and taste with fevers, myalgias, fatigue and the worrisome progression of pulmonary involvement in a minority.  Lab findings may include a leukocytosis,

RheumNow Podcast – The Beginning of Something Else (4.10.20)

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Dr Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com

NICE Guidelines on Managing Rheumatologic Conditions During COVID-19 Pandemic

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On April 3rd, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the UK, published a rapid guideline for managing children and adults with rheumatological autoimmune, inflammatory and metabolic bone disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic, while protecting staff from infection.

RheumNow Podcast - Despite Corona (3.6.20)

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com.

Why You Should Come to RheumNow Live March 13th

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RheumNow Live kicks off its second annual meeting - a little, big meeting in Fort Worth - in just 2 weeks and I think you should be there.

This 17.25 CME credit hour meeting runs from Friday afternoon (3/13) until Sunday morning (3/15), meaning you can drop in over a short weekend and

Hyperuricemia Predisposes to Coronary Artery Disease in Men

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There are numerous associations between hyperuricemia and cardiovascular disease (CVD). An analysis of the Swedish SCAPIS Pilot study shows that higher levels of serum urate (SU) are associated with an increase in coronary artery calcification score in men but not in women. SU is not associated

JAK Inhibitors Stimulate Osteoblasts

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Science Translational Medicine has a report on how the use of Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors may boost osteoblasts to battle bone erosions in conditions like rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

JAK inhibitors have been shown in clinical trials to retard the development of bone erosions

RheumNow Podcast- Best Biologics (2.7.20)

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Dr Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com

Hormone Therapy for Postmenopausal Women

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The NEJM weighs in on the problem of post-menopausal osteoporosis (OP) and tackles the use of hormonal therapy.

The decline in estrogen after menopause may increase risks for osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and cognitive decline. The use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to obviate

Should We Screen Younger Postmenopausal Women for Osteoporosis?

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Do postmenopausal women, under age 65 years, need a baseline BMD testing? A JAMA Insights review suggests that the absolute risk of fracture is low in this group and that USPSTF guidelines should be considered - that we should be screening women younger than 65 years who are at increased risk of

RheumNow Podcast- Knee Pain Knockout (1.10.20)

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week on RheumNow.com. The podcast covers: best therapies for dactylitis and enthesitis; we have a new knockout for knee pain in OA; and are you on the naughty or nice list when it comes to the new ACR-AF guidelines for arthritis?

Best Practice Recommendations in Musculoskeletal Care

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A group of Western Australian clinicians have set out to assess current practices and proved guidance recommendations for high-quality care for the most common musculoskeletal (MSK) pain scenarios encountered by clinicians in emergency and primary care. They have promulgated 11 high-quality

Best of 2019 - Methotrexate and the Risk of Lung Disease

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Rheumatology has a comprehensive overview of methotrexate (MTX) and the risk of lung injury, MTX-related pneumonitis and interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD) with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Past reports suggest the frequence of MTX-pneumonitis to be between 0.3 and 11.6%; recent studies suggest

ACR/EULAR Classification Criteria for IgG4 Related Disease

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IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a relatively new disorder since 2003, and may present as a diagnostic challenge as it can cause fibroinflammatory pathology in nearly any organ. 

A EULAR workgroup set out to develop and validate an international set of classification criteria for IgG4-

RheumNow Podcast - Monitoring Methotrexate Safety (12-6-19)

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com.

PANLAR Ultrasound Study Group: Recommendations On Imaging Modalities In Gout

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Gout is a systemic inflammatory disease with high potential for joint damage due to erosive changes and MSU deposits resulting in disability and chronic pain. Prompt diagnosis and effective treatment are key to better long term outcomes and decreased disability.

To

MRI in the Diagnosis and Management of Polymyalgia Rheumatica

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Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) is a common condition seen by both primary care and in the rheumatology office.Many cases of PMR are extremely straightforward for a trained rheumatologist — with easy to recognize joint pain and stiffness in the shoulder and hip girdles, elevated inflammatory