Focus Rheums| ACR Convergence 2024 Previews

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

FDA Approves Ustekinumab for Crohn’s Disease

Reuters Staff  |  

(Reuters)—Johnson & Johnson says on Monday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the company’s psoriasis drug, ustekinumab (Stelara), for use in adults with Crohn’s disease. The drug is approved in the U.S. to treat plaque psoriasis and a type of arthritis associated with psoriasis. Crohn’s is a chronic inflammatory condition in the gastrointestinal…

Why Rheumatologists Should Care about Zika: How It’s Transmitted & Spreading in the U.S.

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Rheumatologists are already familiar with one mosquito-borne virus, chikungunya, whose presentation mimics arthritis. Now, with its recent spread to Puerto Rico and the Southeastern U.S., Zika, another mosquito-borne virus, has become an international public health concern. Sexual transmission of the virus was recently confirmed, expanding the virus’s threat…

FDA Approves Adalimumab-atto, a Biosimilar of Humira

Reuters Staff  |  

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved a cheaper, biosimilar version of AbbVie’s top-selling arthritis drug, adalimumab (Humira). The drug, adalimumab-atto (Amjevita), is made by biotechnology company Amgen Inc. and was approved to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s disease, psoriasis and other conditions. Amjevita is the fourth biosimilar to be approved…

How to Thrive—Not Just Survive—as a New Manager, Part 1

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The transition from employee to manager in a rheumatology practice can be daunting. But according to experts, setting clear roles and responsibilities and cultivating professional relationships with your employees ultimately help make you and the practice successful…

Is Arthroscopic Meniscal Surgery Effective?

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A recent review examined the effectiveness of arthroscopic mensical surgery in treating meniscal injuries. Researchers determined that little evidence exists to support the use of arthroscopic meniscal surgery and more studies that directly compare it with nonoperative treatments are needed…

Novel Astrocytic Autoantibody Associated with Relapsing Meningoencephalomyelitis

Will Boggs, MD  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—An autoantibody to glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is associated with relapsing autoimmune meningoencephalomyelitis that is responsive to immunotherapy, researchers report. “Autoimmune GFAP meningoencephalomyelitis is the second autoimmune neurological disease in which the target of the immune attack is recognized to be the astrocyte type of brain cell,” Dr. Vanda A. Lennon…

U.S. Justice Department to Push Prosecutors on Opioids

Reuters Staff  |  

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The U.S. Justice Department will enlist federal prosecutors to help fight the nation’s opioid crisis by sharing information on overprescribing doctors and coordinating with public health officials to address addiction, USA Today reported on Friday. “You can’t just have an enforcement strategy alone,” Attorney General Loretta Lynch told the newspaper in an interview. She…