Cannabis arteritis mirrors thromboÂangiitis obliterans in its clinical and arteriographic presentation, but its relevant exposure is cannabis rather than tobacco.1 Whether cannabis arteritis is a subset of thromboangiitis obliterans or a unique pathologic entity is debatable. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the primary psychoactive component of cannabis, is a peripheral vasoconstrictor.2 This offers mechanistic insight into how cannabis may…
In certain ethnic populations and geographic locations, being a genetic carrier of sickle cell trait is common. Despite its prevalence, a recent report studied 100 mothers who were informed their newborn child had tested positive for sickle cell trait, and of these mothers less than half were aware of their carrier status prior to conception.1…
With many new agents designed to treat PsA, rheumatologists and patients have options. Schwartzman et al. examined the real-world use of different treatments and ranked patient medication preferences.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—A single injection into the hip of steroid and local anesthetic improved pain and function in patients with hip osteoarthritis in a randomized controlled trial, with most of the benefit seen early after treatment. Researchers at two community-based clinics in England assigned 199 volunteers to receive either an ultrasound guided intra-articular hip…
In a small study of men with low bone mineral density (BDM) living with HIV and taking anti-retroviral therapy, both zoledronate or denosumab were well tolerated and effective for bone mineral density of the lumbar spine and femoral neck.
The axial phenotype of psoriatic arthritis (axPsA) is an excellent example of a major controversy in rheumatology that has become the focus of attention because of the emergence of new therapies with different mechanisms of action for alleviating joint inflammation. It was first described in 1961 but, until recently, it has largely remained under the…
When Moll and Wright first described the spondyloarthritides in the early 1970s, the archetype of the group was ankylosing spondylitis (AS).1 The shared clinical features of the spondyloarthritides were sacroiliitis; asymmetric large joint peripheral arthritis; psoriasis or psoriaform skin lesions, including keratoderma blennorrhagica; uveitis; and bowel inflammation. Moll and Wright described five clinical subgroups of…
Effective for dates of service on or after April 1, the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code J0491 is valid for billing 1 mg anifrolumab-fnia.
In response to ACR and provider concerns about administrative burden, CVS Caremark has issued a streamlined version of its prior authorization forms for many biologic drugs.
A recent editorial provides new insights by reexamining the definitions of remission for rheumatoid arthritis and outlining concerns with the use of specific metrics for remission in clinical trials.