Articles By Jack Cush, MD
Primary Sjögren's Syndrome Guideline from the British Society for Rheumatology
The British Society of Rheumatology (BSR) has been accredited by NICE to develop a guidance document for the management of primary Sjögren's Syndrome intended for rheumatologists, general physicians, general practitioners, specialist nurses and other specialists (e.g.
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Amgen-Abbvie Settle Humira Biosimilar Patent Dispute
Amgen's biosimilar version of adalimumab (Humira) was FDA-approved in September 2016 and given the trade name Amjevita (generic: adalimumab-atto). This new TNF inhibitor biosimilar has not yet been to market because of legal wranglings over patent issues by Abbvie's Humira.
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29 September 2017 The RheumNow Week in Review
The RheumNow Week in Review discusses the past week's news, journal articles and highlights from RheumNow.com. This week's report discusses regulatory actions by NICE and FDA, higher death rates in RA and psoriasis, increased risk of RA with Asthma, rising numbers for OA, RA, and STDs.
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Psoriasis Increases Risk of Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events
A report in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology shows that psoriasis duration and inflammation may result in cardiovascular inflammation and an increased risk of major adverse CV events.
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Safety of Long-Term PPI Use
The current issue of JAMA reviews the safety of long-term use of proton pump inhibitors (PPI). The following is a collection of the evidence about these purported risks.Fractures
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Increased Deaths in RA, Despite Decreasing Mortality Rates
Data from the Swedish Rheumatology Quality (SRQ) Register studied death rates in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) between 1997 and 2014. Holmqvist and colleagues studied 17,512 RA and 78,847 matched controls from the general population, until their death.
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UAB Researchers Shed Light on Age-Related Osteoporosis
Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have detailed mechanisms leading to age-related bone loss and osteoporosis.
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No Cancer Risk With Biologic Use
A polulation-based study from Sweden has shown that treatment with tocilizumab, abatacept, rituximab, or tumor necrosis factor (TNFi) inhibitors does not affect the risk of malignant neoplasms among patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Specifically, use of a first or second TNFi or biologic DMARDs (bDMARD) does confer a different cancer risk when compared to conventional DMARDS in biologic–naive RA patients.
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FDA Panel Backs New Zoster Subunit Vaccine
GlaxoSmithKline has announced that the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted unanimously in support of the efficacy, safety and approval of its herpes zoster subunit (HZ/su) vaccine (called Shingrix) for the prevention of herpes zoster (shingles) in adults ages 50 and over.
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Sirukumab Turned Down by FDA
On Friday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that will not approve Johnson & Johnson’s rheumatoid arthritis drug sirukumab, stating further data and study would be needed to establish its safety.
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