Biologic drug secukinumab (Cosentyx/Novartis), already FDA approved in January 2015 to treat chronic plaque psoriasis, has now been approved for two new indications: the treatment of active ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and active psoriatic arthritis (PsA).
A new patient registry analysis assessed whether there were any significant differences in outcome between combination therapy and monotherapy in patients with psoriatic arthritis.
Author of the recent vitamin D study in JAMA Internal Medicine discusses whether less is really more when it comes to vitamin D intake.
Graded drug challenges are considered the gold standard for evaluating patients with a low-risk history of a prior adverse drug reactions – like a mild rash or unknown reaction to penicillin as a child.
You’ve heard it thousands of times over the years: smoking is bad for your health. But a recent study found that cigarettes have an interesting impact when it comes to the risk of gout.
Sometimes health stories can be just downright strange, and even the most experienced physicians may scratch their heads from time to time. Whether it was strange ingredients to treat pain or foods that harmfully impact the body, there have been a fair share of wild occurrences in the past 12 months.
Part of an ongoing series that takes a high-level look at the positions of the leading nominees for President when it comes to political issues potentially impacting physicians, this installment focuses on Ben Carson.
The latest US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval goes to a Zurampic (lesinurad), a drug to help treat gout, a type of arthritis classified by severely painful joints.
Research points to the promise of rituximab as a second-line option for patients who do not respond to anti-TNF agents.
A head-to-head test of seven biologic agents finds that all are similarly effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis.
A Phase II trial of a new monoclonal antibody drug shows promise for a potential new treatment for lupus.
Physicians don't have enough time to properly research each medication on their own. The pharmaceutical industry needs to better teach physicians about their medications instead of driving patients to demand them.
A new study suggests that bone material strength index (BMSi) is weakly associated with spine and hip areal bone mineral density (aBMD) but not with prevalent fracture in women.
Hormone-related metabolic pathways in early rheumatoid arthritis may be at play, study shows.
With the amount of information we are hit with day in and day out, our minds need a way of quickly triaging it. This is what stereotyping does. But let's not confuse stereotyping with prejudice. The latter is negative and the former doesn't have to be.
Behcet's syndrome continues to puzzle rheumatologists.Several studies in 2014 and 2015 examined various aspects of this rare disorder.
New treatment guidelines for non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis call for treatment with TNF blockers if NSAIDs fail.
The ACR has new treatment guidelines for ankylosing spondylitis, emphasizing strong evidence for treatment with NSAIDs and TNF blockers.
The first level in management of nail psoriasis is patient education.
Supposedly "unbeatable" eczema (atopic dermatitis) can be successfully treated using tofacitinib, suggest findings published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Study results suggest that gout itself and not hyperuricemia alone is associated with left ventricular diastolic dysfunction and left atrial volume enlargement.
It may be easy to write a prescription for opioids in hopes that they will do the trick for patients struggling with fibromyalgia pain. But the best path towards effective analgesia may not require medication at all.
I'm always fascinated by the Medscape physician reports every year and seeing how unhappy physicians are. How burnt out they are. How dissatisfied with their careers they are.
Patient with autoimmune diseases, like psoriasis, and infected with herpes zoster – commonly known as shingles – have a 50% higher risk of suffering a stroke.
In the midst of planning Thanksgiving dinner and watching the best NFL matchups, the last thing patients want to think about is an inconvenient gout flare-up. Unfortunately, it looks like November is prime-time for the debilitating condition.
A new study analyzed multiple areas of fibromyalgia including pain, brain characteristics, and medication efficacy, which resulted in some very telling conclusions.
The prevalence of gout in more affluent countries seems to be increasing in recent decades. Medications, co-morbidities, genetics and other risk factors are to blame.
The terminology used to describe gout in the medical literature is vague and sometimes confusing, new research finds.
Anakinra shown to significantly reduce pericarditis in patients with highly inflammatory disease and elevated CRP protein.
Can a person’s overall diet affect the development of rheumatoid arthritis? A new study shows that it can, especially for high-risk people.
