WASHINGTON, D.C.—In a session during the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, aptly called Quality Measures and Quality of Care I, a panel of experts presented information on a number of programs underway in rheumatology using quality measures to both assess and improve patient outcomes. Leading off were two presentations on programs using quality measures to improve…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Taking high-dose non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) with a TNF inhibitor as an ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patient is linked with a 61% decrease in the chances your disease will progress, suggesting there may be a synergy when the drugs are used together, according to a longitudinal observational study from researchers at the University of California,…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) patients taking TNF inhibitors don’t develop new cancers at a higher rate than JIA patients who don’t take TNF inhibitors, according to the largest study so far conducted to study the possible link. The findings were reported at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in an abstract session that also included…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Researchers at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting discussed how they are exploring the immune system in search of groundwork for new rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatments. The new avenues, supported by the Rheumatology Research Foundation, involve T cell adhesion, new understanding of the role of macrophages and insights into the way IgG glycans function. T…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Successful management of pain remains a challenge for rheumatologists. Five research abstracts presented at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in a session titled Pain—Basic and Clinical Aspects offered new insights on pain sensitization, and the risks and effects of various pain therapies. Knee Pain After Surgery Can we predict which patients will have longer-term…
Recent research analyzed factors influencing the selection of the first-line biologic medications and the real-life factors that lead to switching from those medications to other biologics in treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The study compared the use of abatacept and tocilizumab with a tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitor (TNFi).1,2 Participants were enrolled in the Lombardy Rheumatology…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Experts speaking at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting session, Update on Small-Vessel Vasculitis, offered insight into the latest approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases involving the inflammation of blood vessels. “Vasculitis is an immune-mediated process. White blood cells invade the vessel wall, causing inflammation throughout the vessel wall,” said Jason M. Springer,…
Brain imaging can distinguish fibromyalgia patients from healthy controls with high sensitivity and specificity, according to two papers published nearly simultaneously in Pain late last summer, by groups at the Universities of Colorado and Michigan, respectively. Somewhat surprisingly to the authors and others, in the Colorado study, which used both painful and nonpainful stimuli, the…
Systemic autoimmune diseases are thought to result from immune dysregulation in genetically susceptible individuals who were exposed to environmental risk factors. Many studies have identified genetic risk factors for these diseases, but concordance rates among monozygotic twins are 25–40%, suggesting that nonheritable environmental factors play a more prominent role.1,2 Through carefully conducted epidemiologic and other…
Throughout their training and practice, physicians become adept at pattern recognition as a means to efficiently connect and synthesize seemingly disparate laboratory, physical exam, and radiologic and historical findings into a coherent theory for what likely ails the patient sitting in front of them. This inductive method of reasoning is necessary because, based on these…