Exclusive: ACR Convergence 2024| Focus Rheums

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

Osteoporosis Drugs Don’t Reduce Overall Mortality

Megan Brooks  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Anti-fracture medications do not reduce overall mortality in older patients with osteoporosis, according to an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. “This meta-analysis suggests drug treatments, including treatment with bisphosphonates, for osteoporosis should be recommended only for the prevention of fracture and not for any additional reduction in mortality,” researchers write in JAMA…

Trump Administration to Appeal Ruling Blocking Price Disclosure for Drug Ads

Carl O'Donnell  |  

(Reuters)—The Trump administration is appealing a court ruling that struck down its plan to compel pharmaceutical companies to disclose wholesale prices of their drugs in televisions advertisements. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) filed a notice of appeal on Wednesday, as it prepares to challenge the July federal court ruling. “If the…

Shingles Vaccine Not the Only Immunization Linked with Gout Flare

Marilynn Larkin  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—The recombinant shingles vaccine (RZV) is associated with an increased risk of gout flare, and a new study suggests other vaccines may trigger flares as well, researchers say. “Our findings are novel because for the first time, we have identified a trigger for gout flares that presumably acts through [an inflammatory] pathway,…

Improved Pregnancy Outcomes for Women with SLE

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Recent research indicates that previous concerns about mortality associated with pregnancy in women with SLE may no longer be applicable. In the study, researchers found a significant decline in the in-hospital maternal mortality rate of women with SLE and a decrease in their length of non-delivery related hospitalization over the past two decades…

FDA Approves AbbVie’s New Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug

Reuters Staff  |  

(Reuters)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday approved AbbVie Inc.’s new treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a win for the drugmaker seeking to widen its portfolio as its blockbuster flagship therapy Humira (adalimumab)‎‎ faces competition. The drug, Rinvoq (upadacitinib), is a JAK inhibitor. It is set to compete with Pfizer Inc.’s Xeljanz (tofacitinib)…

The Association of Rheumatology Professionals Names Grant Recipients

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It is with great pleasure that the ARP congratulates the 2019 recipients of the Mentored Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant Award for Workforce Expansion. The purpose of the NP/PA Award is to increase the supply of rheumatology healthcare providers to better meet the needs of people with rheumatic diseases across the U.S., particularly in geographically underserved areas….

The Choose Rheumatology Experience Encourages Med Students, Residents to Pursue Rheumatology Careers

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Medical students and residents are choosing careers in rheumatology, thanks in part to the annual Choose Rheumatology Experience hosted by the Rheumatology Research Foundation during the ACR/ARP Annual Meeting. The Choose Rheumatology Experience is a special half-day program designed to help future physicians and rheumatology professionals navigate the Annual Meeting. Cultivating interest in rheumatology is…

Dr. Gary Firestein: Musician & Semi-Retired Surfer

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Roughly 20 years ago, Gary S. Firestein, MD, was surfing at Cloudbreak, a sheltered reef nearly three miles south of Namotu Island in Fiji. With waves soaring as high as 20 feet, it’s either a surfer’s dream or nightmare, and ranked among the 10 most challenging waves anywhere on the planet. At the time, Dr….