Skip to main content

News

Lupus Patients Genomically Stratified to Explain Treatment Responses

Systemic lupus is a clinically heterogeneous disorder, unified by requisite clinical features and exuberant humoral response to unknown triggers.  While the diagnosis is easy, the disease course and management can be complicated and challenging.  

Could Rheumatoid Synovium Be a Nursery for ACPA Producing Plasma Cells ?

One of the hallmarks of aggressive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is presence of antibodies against citrullinated protein antigens (ACPA).

Population-Based TB Risk and Prevention with RA and Biologics

In a retrospective cohort comparison study, 42,180 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients were compared 1:4 with 168,000 normal controls to examine the incidence of new tuberculosis in Taiwan. The RA population included those receiving csDMARDs (36,162), etanercept (3,577), adalimumab (1,67

A Rocky Start for Biosimilar Inflectra?

This week, when the FDA approved the biosimilar drug Inflectra as an alternative to infliximab (Remicade), it was only the second biosimilar to be granted approval in the United States, and was the fi

Methotrexate Toxicity Quantified

Methotrexate (MTX) is a highly favored drug in rheumatology.  Yet it has numerous nuisance side effects that may limit its use or patient acceptance.

March 2016 Top Social Media News

In March 2016, RheumNow published 82 social media “tweets” regarding news, research and teaching points that impact the rheumatology community. These feeds had a reach (impressions) of 86,400 with, 76 mentions, and over 2700 visits to learn on RheumNow.com.

RheumNow Week in Review - 8 April 2016

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the rheumatology highlights from the news, media, and journals from this past week:

Altering the Microbiome May Benefit Lupus Patients

 
Previous research has suggested a potential role for gut dysbiosis and alterations Th17 and regulatory T (Treg), along with IL-17, IL-22, and IL-23, in the pathogenesis of SLE. 

Lopez and colleagues from Spain have studied the gut microbiome of l

Statin Side Effects Are For Real

The GAUSS-3 trial, recently published in JAMA, examined cholesterol-lowering interventions in patients with a high LDL (>120 mg/dl) and a history of statin intolerance to 2 or more statins. 

Intraarticular Wnt Inhibitor Therapy Effective in Knee Osteoarthritis

At the 2016 World Congress on Osteoarthritis (OARSI) meeting last week, first line results of a novel intraarticular inhibitor of the Wnt pathway (SM04690) in knee osteoarthritis were presented. 

Choosing ANA Tests Wisely - Education Fosters Smarter Use

It is estimated that 21% of laboratory tests are requested inappropriately. Researchers have explored the impact of educational programs for rheumatologists working at three rheumatology departments in secondary and tertiary care centers in The Netherlands.

Tofacitinib Efficacy Revealed in OPAL Study

Pfizer has issued a press release of its preliminary results from the OPAL study that examined the efficacy and safety of tofacitinib 5 mg and 10 mg twice daily (BID) in adults active psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

×