RheumatologyNetwork Staff

New results from numerous clinical trials of direct-acting antivirals against hepatitis C presented at the ACG2013 meeting point to more effective regimens within a year.

The PLANETAS and PLANETRA trials report biosimilar CT-P13 equivalent to infliximab in safety and efficacy for ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Analysis of thousands of hospital records from the UK suggests an increased cancer risk for patients with PMR, but only within six months after diagnosis and only for certain malignancies.

A comparison of six proposed classification systems for inflammatory myopathies finds those proposed by an NIH neuromuscular specialis tin 2003 to be closest in agreement with the judgments of specialists.

All case reports on Rheumatology Network are published in the form of quizzes. As an online-only publication, we are particularly interested in brevity and conciseness.An excellent example is “Woman With Sarcoidosis, Lymphoma, and Shoulder Pain” by Namas et al, which you can read at http://www.musculoskeletalnetwork.com/rheumatic-diseases/content/article /1145622/2135725. Note the high quality of the illustrations and the fact that the text uniquely demonstrates the importance of a particular clinical procedure.

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT WILL NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.  CONTEST IS VALID ONLY IN THE UNITED STATES (EXCLUDING PUERTO RICO) AND CANADA (EXCLUDING QUEBEC) – ENTRIES FROM PERSONS LIVING IN OTHER COUNTRIES WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY DISQUALIFIED.GENERAL CONDITIONS:The Rheumatology Network PhotoQuiz Contest (the “Contest”) is sponsored by UBM Medica LLC, with a principal place of business at 535 Connecticut Avenue, Norwalk, CT  06854 (“UBM” or “Sponsor”).   The Contest is governed by these Official Rules, as well as by the laws of the State of New York and applicable United States federal law, without regard to any conflicts of laws principles.  The Contest is void where prohibited or restricted by law.  By entering the contest, each entrant agrees to abide by the terms of these Official Rules and by the decisions of Sponsors, which are final and binding on all matters pertaining to the Contest.  The Contest is being run in connection with http://www.rheumatologynetwork.com  (the “Web Site”) and is therefore also governed by UBM’s Terms of Service and Privacy Statement, as well as other policies pertaining to the Web Site.  These Official Rules will govern any conflict between any of the Web Site policies and these Official Rules.  The Web Site policies may be viewed on the Web Site.    HOW TO ENTER: The Contest entry period shall run from the first through the last day of any calendar month ending at 11:59 PM EDT or EST on the last day of the month; late entries will not be taken.  To enter the Contest you must prepare an image-based case study on a topic relevant to rheumatology and email your case study to editor@rheumatologynetwork.com.  Case studies emailed to editor@rheumatologynetwork.com will be reviewed by the Web Site’s Editorial Board and judged based on relevance, distinctiveness of the clinical case, quality of images, and informative nature of the text. 

EULAR 2013: Data from the multicenter CORONNA trial show that a third of patients switch biologics within a year. It also reveals the major reasons for switching.

New this week in the major non-specialty journals: Report of an increased risk for arthropathy in statin users, and case reports on polyarteritis nodosa and a rare mimic of scleroderma.

The FDA cautions against using any injectable products marked "sterile" from Main Street Family Pharmacy of Tennessee.

Sandoz has announced a voluntary recall of two lots of its injectable methotrexate sodium, after finding particulates in vials in a routine quality examination.

Biologics and DMARDs are hailed as miracles and almost-cures for rheumatoid arthritis, if you can catch the patient quickly enough. But Jon Lampa MD of Karolinska Hospital in Sweden has noticed that many studies use inflammation, not pain relief, as their criterion for success.

In the wake of last fall's outbreak of contaminated epidural injections, FDA inspectors have sought and found troubling evidence of widespread failure to maintain sterility at compounding pharmacies.

Diagnostic Champions’ Challenge on Musculoskeletal Network Designed to test the knowledge and medical diagnostic skills of physicians and other healthcare professionals, Musculoskeletal Network's Diagnostic Champions' Challenge was created to educate and entertain. Can you recognize and determine the appropriate treatment for a patient's malady quickly and correctly? Test your clinical knowledge and diagnostic skills by playing in previous rounds and see how your score matches up with other players!

New in the nonspecialty journals: Definitive evidence that glucocorticoids cause venous thromboembolism (not mere association), and a case study about Reynaud's.

News reports, comprehensive summaries of presentations, podcasts and videos, from the 2012 annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology, held in October 2012 in Washington DC.

The risk for progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) among RA patients on rituximab is extremely low, about 5/100,000. For MS patients on long-term (>24 months) natalizumab and infected with relevant pathogen, the JC virus, it is cited as 1/100. . . .

Newly understood mechanisms in the chemistry of inflammation at the glycoprotein targeted by antibodies in antiphospholipid syndrome suggest therapeutic targets

Despite the failure of 150 clinical trials of agents to block inflammatory responses in humans, investigators and regulators still assume that animal research is relevant. A study that compared inflammation-related gene expression between mouse and human has found almost nothing in common.

In a pilot study, plasma fibrinogen appears at least as accurate as C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rates (ESR) as a biomarker of disease activity in polymyalgia rheumatica – and more specific in confirming response to treatment.

Late last year, an FDA official told the New York Times that the drug shortage issue was abating. But two drugs commonly used in rheumatology, injectable methotrexate and methylprednisolone acetate injection, remain in short supply. Why do shortages happen, and what can be done?

There’s no escaping the fact: Adolescents and teens with rheumatic disorders see pediatric rheumatologists more than any other kind of doctor, which leaves the onus on these specialists to manage difficult risky behavior among their young patients.  Besides, the parents expect as much, according to a  2000 study published in the Archives of Pediatrics. It's an uneasy assignment, according to the same study.  

Surgeons who prefer open surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome may want to take a second look at the endoscopic option.

Rheumatology Network (www.rheumatologynetwork.com) offers clinicians a comprehensive overview of authoritative information in rheumatology and related topics in a format that takes full advantage of the capabilities of the Internet. We cover the whole range of rheumatologic disorders, with a strong focus on the conditions seen most frequently in daily practice: •  Rheumatoid arthritis •  Osteoarthritis •  Psoriatic arthritis •  Juvenile arthritis •  Lupus •  Gout •  Fibromyalgia •  Osteoporosis •  Systemic sclerosis •  Myositis •  Vasculitis •  Polymyalgia rheumaticaRheumatology Network is the evolutionary successor to the well-received Journal of Musculoskeletal Medicine, which ceased publication in 2012 after a quarter century in print. Types of articlesRheumatology Network publishes the following types of articles by clinician-authors: •    Photo quizzes (case studies including clinical images, formatted as questions and answers) •    Multi-part reviews (concise reports of current and forthcoming clinical practices, with sections that would appear as subdivisions in a lengthy print review presented as separate articles online) •    “Clinical pearls” presented as bullet-pointed articles, consisting of individual statements followed by brief supplementary information •    300- to 750-word essays on issues relevant to rheumatology practicePeer reviewOriginal submissions deemed initially acceptable are sent for independent review. Rheumatologyl Network follows a double-blind reviewing procedure. We will remove your identifying information from your article before submitting it for review, and reviewers’ identities will be kept confidential when we return comments about your submission.Style and voiceAn active, bright style-writing just as you would talk in person to one of your colleagues-helps communicate information quickly to busy physicians. We edit manuscripts to achieve this style but not to alter medical content. You will have an opportunity to review the edited manuscript (and questions from reviewers).When supplying footnotes, please URL or hyperlink information wherever possible. References available online are greatly preferred to print-only citations. References should be numbered and listed in the order in which you cite them and include first three authors’ names, article title, journal, year, volume, inclusive page numbers, and URL to online abstract, either at PubMed or (preferably) at the publisher's website.IllustrationsWe welcome whatever illustrations you think would be helpful to readers, including clinical photographs, radiographic images, charts, tables, graphs, algorithms, and line drawings. Any artwork (illustrations or photographs) should be saved in a separate electronic document file and not embedded within the same electronic document as the manuscript. Files may be saved as .JPG, .EPS, or .TIF files; high-resolution images (300 dpi) are preferred for best reproduction.Reference citations for illustrations, tables, graphs, and figure captions all should appear at the end of the manuscript.

Besides operating under severely unsanitary conditions, the New England Compounding Center that distributed injectable painkillers contaminated with fungus was doing more than just compounding for individual patients, and should have been subject to FDA inspections.

As part of its ongoing fungal meningitis investigation, the FDA draws attention to Ameridose, a second Massachusetts supplier of injectable products.

Detailed information about shipments of injectable steroids implicated in the fungal meningitis outbreak are now available from the Food and Drug Administration.

For Pediatric Bone & Joint Day, the US Bone and Joint Initiative draws public attention to some difficult issues about vitamin D deficiency and kids.