The RheumNow Week in Review – 5 May 2017
Dr Jack Cush reviews highlights from the news last week on RheumNow.com:
News
US Drug Spending Will Rise Steadily Thru 2021
Reuters has reported that U.S.spending on prescription drugs in 2016 increased by 5.8 percent over 2015 levels to $450 billion based on list prices, and by 4.8 percent to $323 billion when adjusted for discounts and rebates.
Tofacitinib Effective in Ulcerative Colitis
Tofacitinib is currently approved for use in rheumatoid arthritis, but is being studied in numerous other inflammatory conditons including spondylitis, psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis, and has also been studied in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC).
Enthesitis-Related Arthritis in Children
Enthesitis-related arthritis (ERA) is an emerging subset of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) recognized for its distinctive clinical characteristics.
Venous Thromboembolism Risk Factors in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis
A retrospective analysis of four European vasculitis trials analyzes the risk venous thromboembolism (VTE) with ANCA-associated vasculitis and shows that CRP, cutaneous and GI involvement and baseline creatinine were most associated with VTE risk.
Will Restricting Pharmaceutical Sales Rep Access Result in Healthcare Savings?
A current JAMA report shows that the implementation of policies at academic medical centers that restricted pharmaceutical sales representative (PSR) detailing was associated with modest but significant reductions in prescribing of detailed drugs across six of eight major drug classes; however, c
NEJM: Adalimumab and MTX Effective in JIA Uveitis
The NEJM has published the results of a randomized, placebo-controlled trial showing adalimumab and methotrexate is effective in reducing ocular flares in juvenile idiopathic arthritis with uveitis.
Smoking and Worse Outcomes in Spondylitis
BIRMINGHAM, England -- Smoking was a strong predictor of more severe disease in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA), with people who had ever smoked having worse disease activity and worse quality of life than those who had never smoked, researchers reported here.
FDA Approves Abaloparatide for High Risk Patients
The FDA has approved injectable Tymlos (abaloparatide) for use in postmenopausal osteoporosis patients at high risk for fracture, as the drug has been shown to reduce the risk of vertebral and nonvertebral fractures in such patients.
The RheumNow Week in Review – 28 April 2017
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news from the last week on RheumNow.com - from the ACR SOTA 2017 meeting in Chicago:
Lipstick Rheumatology
A 25 year-old female recently diagnosed with seronegative rheumatoid arthritis was started on a TNF inhibitor. She came in for a follow-up visit and noted that her toenails were brittle and discolored when she removed her nail polish recently. She is concerned that she may have psoriasis or that this may be a side effect of the TNF inhibitor.
What is your next step?
Elimination of Senescent Chondrocytes Reduces Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis
A study in the April 24 issue of Nature Medicine suggests that senescent cells in the joint contribute to age-related degenerative disease and that their removal can abrogate disease.
