Rheumatology

While subclinical synovitis is a common problem in the prognosis of RA, it is difficult to detect it by imaging methods and leads to joint destruction in some patients.

As telehealth is an emerging and rapidly changing form of pediatric rheumatology care, engaging patients, caregivers, and rheumatologists will help streamline care to improve satisfaction and overall experience.

Less than 5% of patients with IBD treated with azathioprine had white blood count, eGFR, ALT, and neutrophil abnormalities.

The FDA was prompted to require a safety trial comparing tofacitinib with TNF inhibitors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

"Prevention of severe radiographic progression in a certain percentage of patients remains a challenge because of inadequate treatment response or adverse events associated with therapeutic agents," investigators stated.

Dr. Mease discusses a recent network meta-analyses that included new phase 3 data on guselkumab.

Farzin Khosrow-Khavar, MSc, PhD, discusses his study “Tofacitinib and risk of cardiovascular outcomes: results from the Safety of TofAcitinib in Routine care patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (STAR-RA) study.”

Chengappa Kavadichanda, MD, discusses his study, “Short term outcomes of COVID-19 in lupus: Propensity score matched analysis from a nationwide multi-centric research network.”

From physical activity levels, to T-cell immune responses and quality of life, COVID-19 has impacted the lives of patients with rheumatic diseases. Take 5 minutes to catch up on the latest COVID-19 news.

Meningitis is the most frequent clinical syndrome in SLE patients with CNS infections. C. neoformans, M. tuberculosis and L. monocytogenes are the most common causative pathogens.

New data show that even though physical therapy may be the more expensive treatment for knee osteoarthritis, it’s more effective than intra-articular glucocorticoid injection.

Contrary to recent research that indicated a higher risk of death associated with escalating doses of allopurinol for chronic kidney disease, investigators announce no association between allopurinol initiation and increased mortality among patients with gout and CKD.

On Jan. 21, AbbVie announced the FDA granted approval to their IL-23 inhibitor risankizumab-rzaa (SKYRIZI) for treatment of active psoriatic arthritis in adult patients based on the results of the KEEPsAKE-1 and KEEPsAKE-2 trials.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Rheumatology Network's highlights from the week ending January 21, 2021.

The AHA released a statement related to use of oral penicillin for patients with high-risk rheumatic heart disease, including patients with severe mitral stenosis, aortic stenosis, left ventricular systolic dysfunction, or active symptoms of rheumatic heart disease.

Deucravacitinib selectively binds to a unique pocket in the regulatory domain of TYK2 instead of the highly conserved active site of the catalytic domain,” investigators explained. “This leads to targeted inhibition of immune pathways that are central to psoriasis while limiting off-target effects.”

Women were significantly more likely to utilize complementary and alternative medicine strategies, such as yoga, acupuncture, and vitamins, to help manage chronic arthritis symptoms.

Promising results were announced by UCB after a Phase 3 study evaluated bimekizumab for non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis and met all endpoints.

Bimekizumab, an interleukin 17A (IL-17A) and IL-17F inhibitor, met both primary and secondary endpoints for treating adult patients with non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis.

Physical activity is known to improve function, quality of life, and pain in rheumatoid arthritis. How has the pandemic affected patients’ participation in physical activity? Test your knowledge with this quiz.

While the goal of rheumatoid arthritis treatment is low disease activity and remission, many patients are apprehensive about changing or escalating RA treatment.

Stephen Balevic, MD, explains hydroxychloroquine PK and exposure-response in pregnancies with lupus and the importance of adhering to treatment both during pregnancy and postpartum.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Rheumatology Network's highlights from the week ending January 14, 2021.

W. Benjamin Nowell, PhD, Director, Patient-Centered Research, CreakyJoints, discusses his study, "Patient-Reported Nausea and Fatigue Related to Methotrexate: A Prospective, Self-Controlled Study in the ArthritisPower® Registry.”

While investigators were hopeful that duloxetine, an SNRI, would reduce chronic pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis, results were lackluster and clinically insignificant.

The use of antimalarials was associated with a lower prevalence of congestive heart failure in a large Spanish cohort of patients with SLE.

For patients with rheumatoid arthritis, reduced levels of PA may impact disease activity, increase the likelihood of obesity, and may even lead to more frequent hospitalizations.

Analysis of self-reported wellness and health may provide insight into an overall subjective picture of wellbeing and health status. Mood, sleep quality, and sleep quantity were shown to impact these scores.

Plasma samples, collected from 21 patients with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA), indicate 11 proteins that may help identify patients with active and inactive sJIA.

“Pregnancies in women with SLE are often complicated,” investigators stated. “Accordingly, it is crucial to optimize drug therapy to promote disease control and improve outcomes.”