News

The FDA suggests only limited use of tofacitinib to treat rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, or psoriatic arthritis.

The established criteria for radiographic axial spondyloarthritis and axial spondyloarthritis that is classified as ankylosing spondylitis-is essentially the same, report physicians who recommend the interchangeable use of the terms "ankylosing spondylitis" and "radiographic axial spondyloarthritis."

Periodontal disease and periodontal inflammation appear to be present in individuals who are at risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis long before they begin to show signs of disease, shows new research published in JAMA Network Open.

Identifying and treating symptoms that can appear years before the clinical onset of rheumatoid arthritis could play a role in helping patients offset the condition. And now, new research that identifies a bacteria as a potential cause of these symptoms has one rheumatologist positing whether improved oral care, or maybe a vaccine, might be effective in preventing rheumatoid arthritis.

A 19-year-old woman asked her primary care doctor about something strange that began to occur with her hands:  Her fingers were cold and numb during the summer months. What's your diagnosis?

New research shows that a newly identified species of gut bacteria is significantly depleted in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.

High levels of comorbidity burden are associated independently with poor physical function and increased disability in patients with psoriatic arthritis, however, patients ankylosing spondylitis did not report worse function when comorbidities were present.

Fibromyalgia and polymyalgia rheumatica are distinctly different, but in a case report described in the May 8 issue of the American Journal of Case Reports, Fawad Aslam, M.D., of Mayo Clinic in Arizona, and colleagues describe a confusing case of a 30-year-old woman.

ACE inhibitors appear to heighten the risk of scleroderma renal crisis (SRC), a potentialy deadly complication in patients with systemic sclerosis.

Researchers writing in Arthritis and Rheumatology have found that some scleroderma patients carry enriched antibodies that may prevent cancer and provide immunity to other systemic sclerosis-associated conditions, such as scleroderma renal crisis and SSc-gastrointestinal disease.

The recommendation was based on the SENSCIS trial results, orginally shared at ATS 2019 this year.

Partial knee replacement should be considered first over total knee replacement for patients with late-stage isolated medial compartment knee osteoarthritis, say researchers writing in The Lancet this month.

Bone spurs primarily occur as a result of biomechanical stress, not a systemic condition, which may explain why they are associated with foot osteoarthritis, not of the hand.

The JAK1-selective inhibitor upadacitinib successfully improved the signs, symptoms and function of rheumatoid arthritis patients in a randomized clinical trial published this month in Arthritis and Rheumatology.

Investigators found positive results when examining the safety and efficacy of filgotinib in the FINCH 2 phase 3 clinical trial.

Over the past 20 years, while the demographics of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) hospitalizations have not noticeably changed, the comorbidities that lead to hospitalizations and poor outcomes in SLE have changed.

On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug  Administration approved apremilast (Otezla, Celgene) for the treatment of oral ulcers associated with Behçet’s disease, a rare, chronic, multisystem inflammatory condition that affects approximately five in 100,000 people in the U.S.

The selective inhibitor was previously approved to treat plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

Researchers writing in Arthritis & Rheumatology have found evidence suggesting that osteoarthritis may be a precursor to the development of gout.

An estimated 5 percent of the world’s population is diagnosed with one of a group of heterogeneous autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs) including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and Sjogren’s syndrome (SS). Not only do these diseases share mechanisms and risk factors, they are often comorbid conditions recognized as polyautoimmune (PolyA) manifestations of the same underlying dysfunction.

While gout does not increase the risk of death post-acute coronary syndrome, a new study suggests it may increase an individual’s risk for readmission after heart failure, as well as the number of days he or she will spend on the hospital.

Patients with severe psoriasis are also at a significant increase for developing advanced liver fibrosis, new research shows

Women who have primary Sjögren’s Syndrome also have decreased lifetime exposure to estrogen, a new study has determined.

The impact of chronic inflammatory disease on sexual function may seem obvious but it is poorly understood. Pain, morning stiffness, joint swelling and fatigue can lead to a decreased sexual interest and can inhibit actual intercourse. In this article, Dr. Kim Gorgens reviews the current literature on sexual function for patients with chronic conditions, such as arthritis, and makes recommendations for incorporating sexual function complications as part of the discussion in a clinic exam. 

In an article published in a recent edition of Arthritis Research & Therapy, Jurgen Wollenhaupt and colleagues from multiple international centers have discovered that tofacitinib 5mg and 10mg twice a day remained effective and safe even after 8 and 9.5 years respectively.

Anne-Mari Mustonen and colleagues in Finland have determined the respective fatty acid (FA) signatures found in the infrapatellar fat pad (IFP) and synovial fluid (SF) of patients with osteoarthritis (OA), and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). While the authors’ findings are inconclusive, they give insight into the complex alterations in fatty acid profiles found in knee arthropathies. They present their findings in a recent Arthritis Research & Therapy.

New results for baricitinib and ustekinumab use in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were presented in April at the International Congress on Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (LUPUS 2019), which was held in San Francisco. Here, we summarize those results, plus much more from the meeting.

The prevalence of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is higher among black patients. They can present with a worsened disease state and mortality rates can be higher. This suggests a need for better therapeutic options, says Jim C. Oates, M.D., of Medical University of South Carolina. In this Q&A, Dr. Oates addresses treatment challenges black patients face.

The presence of carotid atherosclerosis in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis patients is associated with an increased risk of having a cardiovascular event, researchers report.