Exclusive: ACR Convergence 2024| Focus Rheums

An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

IBD Patients Who Switch from Infliximab to Biosimilar See Mixed Results

Will Boggs MD  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can safely switch from infliximab to the biosimilar CT-P13, though they may face a higher risk of clinical relapse, researchers from Spain report. Recent studies have demonstrated the effectiveness and safety of infliximab biosimilars in patients with IBD, but there are limited data about the effectiveness…

Gout & Sexual Function

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Pain, physical disability and joint deformity have been linked to sexual dysfunction. New research suggests gout may also significantly affect relationships and intimacy. The study found the physical effects of gout on intimacy, such as joint pain, were the top-ranked concern for gout patients…

First-Year Medical Residents Spend Little Time on Patient Care

Lisa Rapaport  |  

(Reuters Health)—Over a typical 24-hour shift, first year residents training in internal medicine spend just three hours on direct patient care and only 1.8 hours on education, a U.S. study suggests. Most of their time—an average of 15.9 hours out of every 24-hour shift—is consumed instead by “indirect patient care,” primarily involving interactions with medical…

Clusters of Autoimmune Liver Disease Suggest Environmental Trigger

Reuters Staff  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—A large population-based study from the U.K. provides more evidence that some autoimmune liver diseases may be triggered by exposure to something in the environment. The study found a significant clustering of cases of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) in well-defined regions of north-east England…

U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Allergan Bid to Use Tribe to Shield Drug Patents

Lawrence Hurley  |  

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The U.S. Supreme Court has cast aside pharmaceutical company Allergan Plc.’s unorthodox bid to shield patents from a federal administrative court’s review by transferring them to a Native American tribe. The justices left in place a lower court ruling upholding the authority of a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office tribunal to decide the validity…

FDA Greenlights Osteoporosis Drug for Postmenopausal Women

Saumya Joseph  |  

(Reuters)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it has approved Amgen’s osteoporosis treatment for postmenopausal women who are at high risk of fracture. Evenity (romosozumab-aqqg), developed jointly with Belgium-based UCB SA, helps reduce the risk of fracture by increasing bone mass and mildly inhibiting the break down of bone minerals. Romosozumab-aqqg belongs to a new…

State Step Therapy Laws: Not All Are Created Equal

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Step therapy reform has been a hot topic and major focus of the ACR’s advocacy activity in states this legislative session. Washington, Oregon, Wisconsin and Florida are all considering step therapy bills that stand good chance of passing this legislative year. Virginia and Georgia have already passed step therapy laws. When these two new laws…