SAN DIEGO—New insights into how scleroderma and myositis may be linked with cancer have led to intriguing questions that could impact patient care, experts said at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in November. Understanding the relationship between cancer and rheumatic diseases is important because rheumatologists are seeing more and more patients with both diseases, and…
SAN DIEGO—Since the identification of the autoinflammatory disease, familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), researchers have identified an alphabet soup of other autoinflammatory diseases with genetic underpinnings, from PAPA (pyogenic arthritis with pyoderma gangrenosum and acne) to NIAID (NLRP1-associated autoinflammation with arthritis and dyskeratosis) to TRAPS (TNF receptor-associated periodic syndrome). The torrent of discoveries, brought about largely…
SAN DIEGO—Treatments do exist that can improve the prospects of a patient with the rare disease amyloidosis, but only if clinicians keep the disease in mind and treat the patient before it’s too late, an expert said at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting this past November. He also discussed research that may be close to…
SAN DIEGO—At the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting this past November, three researchers discussed the latest ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) research, including studies on AAV pathogenesis, therapies and remission maintenance. In the Philip Hench, MD, Memorial Lecture, J. Charles Jennette, MD, chair in pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chapel…
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can present in many ways and can be difficult to diagnose. Its association with celiac sprue has been only rarely documented, but has appeared in several case reports. When presenting together, it can be difficult to distinguish the underlying disease, because SLE itself has been known to cause malabsorption. This case…
Various drugs are known to cause musculoskeletal symptoms, such as arthralgias, myalgias, drug-induced lupus and serum sickness.1 In the rheumatology world, the most commonly recognized drugs that can cause musculoskeletal symptoms are hydralazine, minocycline, fluoroquinolones and, recently, the dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitor class of medications. Although beta blockers also have a noted side effect…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Sialendoscopy with irrigation of the major salivary glands can enhance salivary flow and reduce xerostomia in patients with Sjogren’s syndrome, according to a randomized trial. “In our study it is suggested that patients with recent onset of Sjogren’s syndrome and with residual salivary gland capacity could benefit from sialendoscopy,” said Dr. Derk…
In a Phase 3 study, ixekizumab proved safe and effective to treat adults with ankylosing spondylitis (AS)…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Patients undergoing total joint replacement are younger now than they were in 2000, new research indicates. The average patient undergoing a total hip replacement (THR) in 2014 was 64.9 years, while the average patient in 2000 was 66.3 years. Similarly, the average patient undergoing a total knee replacement (TKR) was 65.9 in…
(Reuters Health)—Gout sufferers with major pre-existing heart disease face a higher risk of death if they are treated with the drug febuxostat, a large long-term study has concluded. The risk of death from cardiovascular disease was 34% higher with febuxostat than with allopurinol. When researchers considered deaths from any cause, the risk was 22% higher…