More than half of rheumatoid arthritis patients had persistent moderate-to-high disease activity after six months of treatment with a conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (csDMARD), and less than a third had their therapy escalated, indicating that there is considerable need for a treat-to-target approach to care for these patients, say researchers recently writing in Clinical Rheumatology.
This column will feature a series of focused overviews with practical suggestions for managing the manifold tricky needs of your patient population. This series started with a primer for addressing the sexual health questions of patients-paired with a healthy dose of required self-reflection (“Teach them to fish: Addressing the sexual health needs of patients and practice culture”). The series will continue with this dive into problematic substance use and next to coverage of other important but thorny issues including personality disorders, patient safety in the home (exposure to violence, abuse, or self-harm), cognitive impairment vis-à-vis medical decision-making, and the de-escalation of agitated, angry patients. There are other dozens of other difficult conversations, so please get in touch with suggestions.
A new study from the University of Minnesota is shedding light on the potentially adverse impact warfarin use can have on bone health compared to DOAC therapies in patients with atrial fibrillation.
The safety of live virus vaccines in patients receiving biologic therapies was confirmed in a study of 617 patients recently presented at the American College of Rheumatology annual meeting this month.
Even though senior patients with rheumatoid arthritis receive biologic therapies less often than patients who develop the condition early in life, a Japanese study presented this month at the ACR annual meeting, shows that patients 60 years and older can benefit from therapy just as much as younger patients.
Researchers are exploring the possibility of using immune checkpoint inhibitors in rheumatoid arthritis patients. A small study presented at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) annual meeting earlier this month shows that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who were treated with immunotherapy, responded just as well as a comparable patient population with only 12 of 22 patients experiencing flares.
A large proportion of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have been inappropriately prescribed opioids, researchers reported recently in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
A new study shows that the clinical status of patients who have either rheumatoid arthritis or axial spondyloarthritis, can be successfully maintained when switching from the biologic originator etanercept to a biosimilar called SB4.
The first-ever study designed to assess the effectiveness of methotrexate on hand osteoarthritis finds that while the treatment did not demonstrate superior efficacy over placebo on pain or function, it did significantly reduce the progression of joint damage.
Patients who have systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease and received nintedanib were more likely to have improved lung function than patients who received a placebo, according to a new study. Not only did nintedanib improve forced vital capacity, but patients who received the drug were less likely to experience declining clinical status and more likely to see their conditions stabilize.
Scientists now have a better understanding of the relationship between the gut microbiome and rheumatoid arthritis.
Richard Furie, MD, chief of the division of rheumatology with Norwell Health, discusses the results of a phase 2 trial examining obinutuzumab for lupus nephritis.
Philip Mease, MD, director of rheumatology research at the Swedish Rheumatology Research Group, discusses the current state of treatments for psoriatic arthritis.
Elaine Husni, MD, discusses the results of a trial she led examining quality of life changes in psoriatic arthritis patients receiving golimumab over a 1-year period.
Abdul Abdellatif, MD, discusses during Kidney Week some treatment options for patients with gout.
John Sundy, MD, PhD, senior vice president of Inflammation and Respiratory Disease with Gilead Sciences, discusses the results of a pooled safety analysis examining phase 3 studies of filgotinib.
Raymond Douglas, MD, PhD, discusses teprotumumab and its potential for treating thyroid eye disease.
Peter Izmirly, MD, discusses the results of a trial he led examining the possible reduction in recurrence of congenital heart block from treatment with hydroxychloroquine at ACR 2019.
Renowned infectious disease expert Leonard Calabrese, DO, professor of medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, takes part in a Q&A on vaccinations in immunocompromised patient populations.
Aileen Pangan, MD, executive medical director of Immunology with AbbVie, discusses the results of the SELECT-AXIS 1 trial and what it indicates about upadacitinib as a treatment for ankylosing spondylitis.
Jianmin Fang, PhD, CEO and founder of Remegen Ltd., discusses the results of a phase 2b trial exmaining the use of telitacicept for the treatment of SLE.
Yusuf Yazici, MD, chief medical officer of Samumed, discusses SM04690(Lorecivivint) at ACR 2019.
ACR Annual Meeting: Exposure to industrial emissions of fine particles matter and sulfur dioxide are associated with the presence of anti-citrullinated protein antibodies, 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.
ACR Annual Meeting: In patients with moderate to severe systemic lupus erythematosus, anifrolumab (AstraZeneca) was superior to placebo for overall disease activity, skin disease and oral corticosteroid tapering, among other efficacy endpoints, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in Atlanta on November 12.
In rheumatoid arthritis patients who are in sustained remission and receiving conventional synthetic DMARDs, continued treatment with stable doses led to fewer disease activity flares and less frequent radiographic joint damage progression than tapered csDMARD treatment, shows a study.
John Sundy, MD, PhD, senior vice president of Inflammation and Respiratory Disease with Gilead Sciences, discusses the results of the 156-week analysis of filgotinib in RA patients.
Philip Mease, MD, Director of Rheumatology Research at the Swedish Rheumatology Research Group, discusses why he believes some rheumatologists are skeptical of JAK inhibitors and where they fit in current treatment algorithms.
Martin Bergman, MD, clinical associate professor of Medicine at Drexel University, discusses the results of a study examining prevalence of burnout among rheumatologists.
ACR Annual Meeting: Single intra-articular doses of UBX0101 of up to 4 mg were well-tolerated by patients with painful knee osteoarthritis, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in Atlanta on November 12. The treatment is in development, but if it pans out, it may reduce the effects aging on arthitic joints.
ACR Annual Meeting: In a small study, patients with macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) receiving emapalumab (Gamifant, Sobi) achieved complete response, according to data presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in Atlanta on November 12.
