Rheumatology Weekly News Roundup: COPD Mortality Risk in RA and More

October 18, 2019

In this week's Rheumatology Network news roundup, we highlight advances in rheumatology research featured in recent issues of the New England Journal of Medicince, the journal Rheumatology and others. Among the most interesting findings was a study that highlights a link between antibiotic use and rheumatoid arthritis. Learn more in this slidesshow.

COPD Triples Mortality Risk in RA: 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. (©Sebastian Kaulitzki, AdobeStock)

Antibiotic Use Increases Rheumatoid Arthritis Risk: Exposure to antibiotics increases the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, say researchers writing in the journal Rheumatology this month. (©Pictoores,AdobeStock,130501297)

Seven Key Recommendations for Managing Blood Clots. 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. (©Kateryna_Kon,AdobeStock.com)

Advances in Precision Medicine in Lupus: 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. (©Watchara,Shutterstock.com)

Vedolizumab Effective as Colitis Treatment, Study Shows. Vedolizumab proves to be superior to adalimumab for in achieving clinical remission and endoscopic improvement for ulcerative colitis, but not corticosteroid-free clinical remission. (©ChristophBurgstedt,AdobeStock)

Ustekinumab Maintains Ulcerative Colitis 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. (©Nerthuz, AdobeStock.com)

First-Ever Guidance on CBD Use for Arthritic Pain: The Arthritis Foundation has just released the first CBD guidance for adults with arthritis. CBD, or cannabidiol, a plant-based compound, has become popular among people with arthritis seeking to ease chronic joint pain. Learn more in this slideshow. (©Lovelyday12,AdobeStock_271557124)

3 Key Messages You Shouldn't Forget When Treating Fracture Patients: The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research has developed a set of treatment recommendations for the prevention of secondary fracture in patients 65 years and older who have had a hip or vertebral fracture. There are 13 recommendations. In this slideshow, we highlight the recommendations beginning with improved doctor-patient communication. (©Angkhan,AdobeStock)

Ixekizumab Bests Adalimumab at 24 Weeks in Psoriatic Arthritic Skin, Joint Symptoms: 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. (©FreshIdea,AdobeStock,287106953)