Gout

Patients with gout maintained therapeutic response at 6 months when treated with a combination of methotrexate (MTX) and pegloticase, as opposed to pegloticase therapy alone.

This week, Rheumatology Network sat down Brad Marder, MD, co-author of the study, Pegloticase Therapy in Gout Patients Undergoing Dialysis: A USRDS Database Study. Data suggests that pegloticase is successful in the treatment of dialysis patients with uncontrolled gout with potentially lower ESA dose requirements after treatment.

A meta-analysis notes that relative risk for stroke was high for rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and gout.

During the study, which ran from December 2016 through May 2018, 301 flares were treated: 214 with anakinra and 87 with triamcinolone. Both treatment options reduced pain intensity for both first and subsequent flares.

Pegloticase in conjunction with immunomodulator combination therapy significantly increased pegloticase responder rates when compared with pegloticase monotherapy for patients with uncontrolled or refractory gout, according to a study. This week, Rheumatology Network interviewed lead investigator, Robert Keenan, MD, to discuss his findings.

Pegloticase (pegylated uricase) is medication approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designed to lower sUA in patients with uncontrolled gout. However, 26% of patients have infusion-related reactions (IRs), which may be indicative of the development of antidrug antibodies (ADAs). Due to this, physicians often administer immunomodulators in addition to pegloticase in order to prevent ADAs as well as increase the effectiveness of the therapy.

“We found that initiation of febuxostat administration during an acute gout flare did not prolong acute flares, and the rate of ‘treat to target’ was higher in the febuxostat group,” investigators concluded. “This may increase patient compliance.”

Investigators found "improved outcomes for patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases after COVID-19 diagnosis in more recent months of the pandemic compared with earlier months, including lower risks of death, respiratory failure, and renal failure."

Puja Khanna MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine at the University of Michigan, discusses a presentation she gave at the American College of Rheumatology Convergence 2020 on reducing the immunogenicity of pegloticase and improving its efficacy.

Adjusting lifestyle factors can reduce the risk of gout in men.

For kidney transplant patients with gout, the use of anti-inflammatory drugs and urate-lowering therapies typically used to prevent flares and slow the progression disease, are associated with the risk of adverse events. In this interview, Dr. Abdul Abdellatif describes a clinical trial that shows pegloticase may be suitable for transplant patients with gout.

In today's episode of the Rheumatology Network podcast Overdrive, we talk with Dr. Bradley Marder, medical director of nephrology for Horizon Therapeutics. Gout, he says, is not only a rheumatic disease that affects peripheral joints, it’s a disease that's systemic in nature and progressive. As a nephrologist, he sees gout as kidney disease. In today's episode of Overdrive, he explains why.

In today's featured video, we talk with Dr. Brad Marder, medical director at Horizon Therapeutics, who shares with us the details of three studies presented at the American Society of Nephrology annual meeting which is taking place this week online. The studies highlight the preliminary results of clinical trials for new gout treatments. In this interview, he explains why this research is important.

In patients with acute gout, cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors, especially etoricoxib (Arcoxia, Merck & Co.), may result in a greater clinical response than traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), according to a study published in BMJ Open.

Dr. Bradley Marder, medical director of nephrology with Horizon Therapeutics, addresses the role of diet in managing gout.

Gout is not only an intermittent disease that affects peripheral joints, it’s a disease that's systemic in nature and progressive, says Dr. Bradley Marder, medical director of nephrology with Horizon Therapeutics. As a nephrologist, he sees gout as a kidney disease. In this interview, he explains why.

Some drugs used to treat lupus and other connective tissue diseases have been shown to increase cardiovascular risks. Even so, those drugs remain effective in addressing disease symptoms, and a leading rheumatology researcher has suggested that concerns may not be fully warranted.

It is necessary to continue urate-lowering therapy in the inpatient setting to decrease the risk of gout flare in hospitalized patients.

In this week's one-on-one interview, we talk with Dr. Jeffrey Curtis of the University of Alabama. We spoke about the use of activity trackers as a tool to record and track arthritic flare-ups. The device has been found to be useful in improving patient care or as Dr. Curtis says, “we need to right-size care” by giving patients the right care at the right time.” In this interview, he explains how an activity tracker can make such a huge difference in the care patients receive.

A systematic review and meta-analysis recently published the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics finds that consuming sugar-sweetened beverages is significantly associated with increased serum uric acid concentrations associated with gout flares.

Wearable activity trackers are designed to monitor an individual's movement to achieve fitness goals, but researchers find they may have use in tracking gout flares.

Dr. Vibeke Strand discusses the relationship between COVID-19 and psoriatic arthritis.

Gout must be treated every day rather than as a single event.

John Botson, MD, defines gout and how it can be treated.

A clinical rheumatologist breaks down how the combination therapy can be used to treat uncontrolled gout.