Conditions

Subcategories:Axial Spondyloarthritis Gout and Crystalline Arthritis Guidelines Myositis Osteoarthritis and Bone Disorders Other Rheumatic Conditions Pain Syndromes Pediatric Conditions Psoriatic Arthritis Rheumatoid Arthritis Sjögren’s Disease Soft Tissue Pain Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Systemic Sclerosis Vasculitis

FDA Approves Lesinurad + Allopurinol

Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP | September 19, 2017

Duzallo, a combination of lesinurad and allopurinol, was approved by the FDA in August to treat hyperuricemia associated with gout…

Fellows’ Forum Case Report: Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy and RA

Eugene Jalbert, DO, MBA, Priyanka Murali, DO, Rakhee Shah, DO, Robert DiGiovanni, DO, FACOI, FACR, & Rubaiya Mallay, DO, FACOI, FACR | September 18, 2017

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease associated with erosive destruction of diarthrodial joints. Patients who are seropositive are more prone to developing extra-articular manifestations, such as rheumatoid lung, rheumatoid nodules and others. With the development of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), the incidence and severity of these extra-articular manifestations has declined. Below, we describe…

Lady Gaga Calls Off Tour, Citing Pain from Fibromyalgia

Reuters Staff | September 18, 2017

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Lady Gaga on Monday called off the European leg of her world tour, saying she was suffering from severe physical pain and was seeking medical treatment. The Born This Way singer, 31, who says she suffers from fibromyalgia, also canceled an appearance at a music festival in Rio de Janeiro last…

Autoantibodies in Autoimmune Myopathy

Ruth Jessen Hickman, MD | September 18, 2017

In recent years, scientists and clinicians have learned a great deal about autoantibodies occurring in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs). These new discoveries have reshaped our understanding of distinct clinical phenotypes in IIMs. Scientists continue to learn more about how these autoantibodies shape pathophysiology, diagnosis, disease monitoring, prognosis and optimum treatment. Moving forward, these autoantibodies will…

Acupuncture & Electrotherapy May Help Patients after Total Knee Arthroplasty

Lara C. Pullen, PhD | September 18, 2017

A new review examined how drug-free interventions affect pain relief and analgesic consumption for patients who have had knee surgery. Although little evidence shows these treatments reduce actual pain, electrotherapy and acupuncture may help patients delay their postoperative use of opioids…

Abatacept Approved for Psoriatic Arthritis in Adults; Sirukumab Approval Stalls

Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP | September 17, 2017

Abatacept Approved for Adult PsA On June 30, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved abatacept (Orencia) to treat adults with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA).1 Abatacept is available as both an intravenous formulation and a subcutaneous injection.2 The approval was based on results of two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials, PsA-I and PsA-II, during which…

Predictive Value of Imaging Studied for Calcium Crystal Deposition in Rheumatic Diseases

Thomas R. Collins | September 17, 2017

MADRID—Calcification in osteoarthritis (OA) involves a series of pathways and interactions that feed off each other in a process that bears some resemblance to the transformation of cartilage to bone that takes place in the embryonic stage of human development, a researcher said here at the 2017 Annual European Congress on Rheumatology (EULAR). “My hypothesis…

Electronic Registers and Best Practices to Improve Patient Care in Rheumatic Disease

Thomas R. Collins | September 17, 2017

MADRID—Determining what is a best practice in rheumatology and then implementing improvements based on what you find can be fraught with complexity, an expert said during the 2017 Annual European Congress on Rheumatology (EULAR). Examples are emerging of benchmarking projects in which electronic registers are used to improve patient care, said William Dixon, MD, chair…

Lymphoma Risk in RA Patients Remains Steady

Kurt Ullman | September 17, 2017

Patients with a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) experience on average double the risk of developing malignant lymphoma when compared with the general population. With the major changes in RA treatment taking place over the past decade, has there been a reduction in the risk of lymphoma in this population? Researchers from the Karolinska Institute…

Effectiveness of Steroid Injections vs. Placebo Evaluated for Knee Pain

Catherine Kolonko | September 17, 2017

A two-year study among patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) showed that steroid injections for knee pain were no more effective than saline injections and actually reduced cartilage volume more than placebo. The study, conducted at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, looked at progression of cartilage loss and change in knee pain after treatment with placebo…