There's limited study of whether disease-modifying drugs for rheumatoid arthritis, with the exception of methotrexate and anakinra, present a risk to a fetus. However, curiously, adverse pregnancy outcomes may increase a healthy mother's risk for developing RA.
Tocilizumab (Actemra) appears to dampen inflammation, increase hemoglobin, and improve inflammatory anemia in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), judging from post hoc analysis of a randomized late-stage clinical trial.
Last year's approval of belimumab (Benlysta) revolutionized lupus treatment. How safe and effective is it, actually? Do similar inhibitors of the B-cell activating factor BAFF, now in testing, appear even more promising? Here are the basics from an expert on the subject.
Treating chlamydial infection not only eradicates the micro-organisms from joints, placebo-controlled studies have shown. It also relieves symptoms of reactive arthritis.
A study from the Netherlands has found a range of minimum serum levels of adalimumab that are associated with a good clinical response in rheumatoid arthritis. As in other studies, adding methotrexate helps.
In 2014 hydrocodone-containing medications will likely be upgraded to Schedule II, making them a challenge to prescribe. What can you do for patients who truly depend on them for pain relief?
Examining evidence on vitamin D deficiency in elderly and young populations expands the hormone's clinical knowledge base.
New in the non-rheumatology journals: Among osteoarthritis patients in the UK, 10-year survival rates were doubled after metal-on-metal (MoM) hip resurfacing, compared with other types of hip replacement.
Why are gout patients seeking treatment from their healthcare providers at three times the rate they were in the later 20th century? Researchers suggest that better disease awareness and an aging population may hold the answers.
ACR2013: A new study from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden suggests that hormone therapy may reduce the risk for ACPA-positive rheumatoid arthritis.
Researchers found a more than tripled risk of ASDs and VSDs in children born to SLE mothers in a study reported at the recent annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology.
In partnership with the British Medical Journal, the Lupus Foundation of America will publish Lupus Science and Medicine beginning in 2014.
ACR2013: Joints erode in systemic lupus erythematosus and primary Sjӧgren’s Syndrome. But French researchers say their MRI studies don't justify classing them as erosive disorders like rheumatoid arthritis.
Two new strategies for breaking through the tangle of pathways to identify those most important to rheumatoid arthritis treatment converge on a shared goal: personalized medicine.
ACR2013: Retrospective analysis of more than 10,000 pregnancies documents increased risks for hypertension, preeclampsia, preterm delivery and stillbirths among women with SLE.
ACR 2013: Stymied by high response rates in the "usual care" comparison arm of new-drug trials, lupus researchers are testing a bold idea: Carefully withdraw treatment from the control group.
ACR2013: As well as neonatal lupus and heart block, new research suggests that children born to women with lupus may face higher risks for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
This 6-year-old boy presents to the ER with a 2-day history of increasing pain and swelling in his right ankle. On the day of his arrival, he also developed the rash pictured here. The patient denies any other symptoms aside from his ankle and knee pain. His chest X-ray, vital signs, complete blood count (CBC), and basic chemistry panel were normal, though urinalysis showed a trace of blood.
ACR 2013: Patients treated for IgG4-related disease with rituximab at Mass General and Mayo Clinic have shown rapid remission. Results also pointed to an important biomarker for the disorder.
ACR 2013: Debates about drug costs in rheumatoid arthritis dominated discussions at ACR this year, and one session was formally billed a debate. Will less-costly triple therapy someday be mandated for early RA?
During their "Great Debate" keynote session of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 2013 Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA, two leading rheumatologists took direct aim at each other's significant clinical trial data to provide rationale for choosing biologics over triple therapy - or vice versa - as the treatment of choice for rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
ACR2013: Highly specific and sensitive for Sjögren's syndrome, ultrasound of the salivary gland can also benefit the accuracy of the new ACR criteria for the disorder.
Reports in a pediatric ophthalmology journal reveal risk factors and best treatments for refractory/recurrent uveitis in JIA.
ACR2013: Apremilast, a new kind of anti-inflammatory, proved significantly better than placebo against psoriatic arthritis after 52 weeks. Adverse effects were short-lived. Results for ustekinumab also held up after a year.
Noting that it takes an average of 5 years before a fibromyalgia patient receives a diagnosis, researchers conducted a retrospective data analysis to identify significant variables that may enable earlier detection and diagnosis of fibromyalgia.
While the use of acute, high-dose systemic corticosteroids probably has no clinically significant effect on wound healing, chronic systemic corticosteroids may impair postoperative healing in susceptible patients.
Small case study reveals psoriatic arthritis risk with ustekinumab use for psoriasis. Also: Regulators toughen up on painkiller labeling, but is it enough?
Acronym alert: European rheumatologists are proposing new subtypes of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, prompted by advances in methods of drug development.
ACR2013: More familiar as a suspect in Alzheimer disease, amyloid proteins may trigger autoantibodies in lupus when introduced via infection, a mouse study suggests.
An intense search is underway for better ways to support treatment decisions in the vasculitides. Here are the most promising candidate biomarkers for identifying active disease and predicting relapse.
