Exclusive: ACR Convergence 2024| Focus Rheums

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

Rheumatoid Arthritis

From the Front Lines: Managing RA Comorbidities in Primary Care

Arthritis Care & Research  |  

How are comorbidities for RA patients managed outside of rheumatology? A recent Canadian study developed and assessed quality measures related to preventive care and screenings for RA patients in a primary care setting, comparing RA and non-RA patients. The results: Primary care physicians often provide similar levels of care to patients with and without RA. But RA patients were less likely to receive some cancer screenings and all necessary tests to assess their cardiovascular risk…

Reassuring Data on Cancer Risk with Contemporary RA Drugs

Reuters Staff  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—A large Swedish study1 provides reassuring data on the risk of cancer in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors or with tocilizumab, abatacept or rituximab. Overall, the risk of malignant neoplasms did not differ between patients treated with a first anti-TNF drug; a second anti-TNF drug; tocilizumab,…

TNF Inhibitor Drug Tapering Successful in Some Patients with RA

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MADRID—Scores on the Health Assessment Questionnaire for Rheumatoid Arthritis (HAQ) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were independent predictors of whether patients could be tapered successfully from a TNF inhibitor after having reached remission of their RA, according to findings presented in a session at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology. Researchers also developed a composite…

Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatments Show Mixed Results

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MADRID—The anti-IL6 “nanobody,” vobarilizumab, produced mixed results when used with methotrexate (MTX) and compared with MTX and placebo, according to results of a 24-week, double-blind Phase 2b study of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which were presented in an abstract session at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR). The drug missed its primary endpoint…

Effectiveness of Tofacitinib with Methotrexate, Adalimumab Therapy Evaluated in Patients with RA

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MADRID—Tofacitinib (a JAK inhibitor) used with methotrexate (MTX) is not inferior to adalimumab (a TNF inhibitor) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who’ve had an inadequate response to MTX alone, according to results of a Phase 3B/4 trial presented in a session at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR). The findings came in a one-year…

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  |  

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…

Lymphoma Risk in RA Patients Remains Steady

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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…

Opioid Use in U.S. RA Patients

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Nationally, opioid use and addiction are drawing increased scrutiny. An increase in the number of overdoses and addiction to heroin and prescription pain relievers in the past decade has been attributed in part to increased prescribing of opioids for the treatment of pain by physicians. National trends suggest the rate of opioid prescribing plateaued in…