News

Among patients with systemic rheumatic diseases, the risk of opportunistic infections was highest in those with polymyositis/dermatomyositis, say researchers writing in Arthritis Research & Therapy this month.

Exposure to industrial emissions of fine particles matter and sulfur dioxide are associated with the presence of anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA), a characteristic biomarker for rheumatoid arthritis, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in Atlanta on November 12.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved ustekinumab (Stelara, Janssen) for the treatment of adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis, a condition that affects approximately 910,000 adults in the U.S.

Patients with psoriatic arthritis have twice the rate of joint surgery when compared with the general population, with one-third of patients with this condition undergoing joint surgery, say researchers writing in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases this month.

Adalimumab (Humira, AbbVie) exposure in pregnancy is not associated with an increased risk for major and minor structural birth defects, spontaneous abortion, pre and post-natal growth deficiency, serious or opportunistic infections and malignancies, say researchers writing in PLOS ONE this month.

The use of interleukin inhibitors in patients with rheumatologic diseases is associated with higher rates of serious infections, opportunistic infections, and cancer, compared to placebo, say researchers writing in JAMA Network Open this month.

The diagnosis of osteoporosis in statin-treated patients is dose-dependent, say researchers writing in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases last month.

A 56-year-old woman with a history of celiac disease visited her doctor after a number of firm, smooth plaques developed over the course of a couple of weeks. The plaques manifested as yellow and pink, but then changed to a reddish color. What's the diagnosis?

Failure to achieve a target serum urate level of below 6 mg/dL among patients with gout is an independent predictor of total and cardiovascular-related mortality, say researchers writing in RMD Open: Rheumatic & Musculoskeletal Diseases this month.

Opioid use among patients with rheumatoid arthritis is prevalent, and while there is a small decrease in overall opioid use after tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor initiation, newly initiated opioid use after TNF inhibitor initiation may reflect an unmet need in pain management, say researchers writing in Rheumatology and Therapy this month.

Prior authorization requirements are associated with treatment delays and prior authorization denials are associated with greater glucocorticoid exposure, say researchers writing in Arthritis Care & Research last month.

Low-dose IL-2 might be effective and tolerated in the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), say researchers writing in Annals of the Rheumatic Disease this month.

Hydroxychloroquine retinopathy is more common than previously thought, shows a study published in Arthritis and Rheumatology.  Higher dosages and long duration of use is associated with a higher risk of vision loss.

Romosozumab joins the growing list of monoclonal antibody drugs that treat osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.

IL-1 inhibition with anakinra was more effective than TNFi treatment for improving glycemic and inflammatory parameters in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and type 2 diabetes, say researchers writing in PLOS Medicine last month.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis have a large comorbidity burden at the time of diagnosis, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and interstitial lung disease, but COPD is a particular concern, say researchers writing in Rheumatology this month.

Exposure to antibiotics increases the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, say researchers writing in the journal Rheumatology this month.

A review in the journal Lupus examines treatments for primary and secondary thromboprophylaxis in patients with anti-phospholipid autoantibodies (aPL) and a history of thrombosis, which can affect more than 50 percent of people with systemic lupus erythematosus. 

In a review that examines the use of conventional and orphan autoantibodies as biomarkers for diagnosing systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), researchers say the science is advancing rapidly with the goal of diagnosing lupus earlier than currently done.

Total hip arthroplasty does not provide a clinically significant improvement over hemiarthroplasty in function and quality of life over 24 months, shows a NEJM study. The incidence of secondary procedures did not differ significantly between the two groups.

Vedolizumab proves to be superior to adalimumab for in achieving clinical remission and endoscopic improvement for ulcerative colitis, but not corticosteroid-free clinical remission.

Ustekinumab (Stelara, Janssen Biotech) was more effective at one year than placebo for inducing and maintaining remission in patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis, NEJM study shows.

In a dose finding trial, 100 μg of sprifermin every 6 or 12 months is proven to boost femorotibial joint cartilage thickness in patients suffering from osteoarthritis.

The monoclonal antibody class of drugs could help osteoporosis patients prevent fractures.

Ixekizumab was superior to adalimumab at 24 weeks in a head-to-head trial evaluating both skin and joint symptoms in patients with psoriatic arthritis and inadequate response to csDMARDs, say researchers writing in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases last month.

The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research has developed clinical recommendations for the prevention of secondary fractures for patients aged 65 years and older after an initial hip or vertebral fracture. The recommendations were published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research last month.

Social support may be a prognostic factor for some joint-specific and general health outcomes after hip or knee replacement, say researchers writing in The Lancet Rheumatology this month.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may be saddled with other health conditions ranging from mild allergies to cancer. Several studies have noted the increased incidence of mortality due to cardiovascular disease and infections. In this quiz, we focus on comorbidities associated with RA. 

A combination of medication, vitamin D, and calcium, as well as physical therapy is necessary to treat osteoporosis.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes saw greater improvement in blood glucose levels with sarilumab than adalimumab or placebo, shows a study spresented at Clinical Congress of Rheumatology West held in San Diego last month.