I should have paid more attention in medical school. If I had, I might have remembered enough about basic pathophysiology to know why everyone was suddenly pulling their patients off of lisinopril. For those of you who need a quick primer: When the pressure in the renal artery drops, the kidney secretes renin. Working together,…
In a new study, Spiera et al. assessed the safety and efficacy of lenabasum, a synthetic, orally administered agonist of cannabinoid receptor 2 that modulates the endocannabinoid system to activate the resolution phase of innate immune responses, in diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis…
My fellow was laughing at me. By itself, I don’t think this was an unusual occurrence. I am quite certain that my fellows laugh at me all the time. That said, when such laughter is called for, I am accustomed to a certain protocol being observed. In general, I expect the laughter to be contained,…
(Reuters)—Pharmaceutical companies have ramped up clinical trials in the past month, rebounding from a steep decline in activity following the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, though activity remains below pre-pandemic levels, according to new research shareS with Reuters. The research, which was prepared by clinical trial consulting firm Medidata, shows that new subjects entered trials…
In a new study, Baker et al. examined reference product and biosimilar orders, comparing data from a Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) to those from an academic medical center…
COVID-19 has generated an outpouring of fast-paced, late-breaking new developments. The majority of countries (188) around the world have reported cases of COVID-19.1 As of April 1, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had reported cases in every U.S. jurisdiction (50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and…
The ACR and Rheumatology Research Foundation hope a new report on rheumatic disease research can leverage more money for ACR members, funding future research…
Rheumatologists in community-based practices work closely with patients, which allows them to notice trends and nuances researchers may not. Unfortunately, few opportunities exist for rheumatologists to test their observations through research, in addition to taking care of patients. Limited funding, time constraints and competition from larger academic medical centers are some of the barriers that…
Rheumatologists should not be falsely reassured by a normal mean blood pressure in lupus patients, according to a study from Johns Hopkins University that found age-related blood pressure patterns in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) differ from the general population and that increased diastolic blood pressure variability (BPV) is highly associated with cardiovascular events in SLE.1…
As useful stand-ins for biologics targeting a range of inflammatory diseases, biosimilars have made significant inroads across Europe as less expensive alternatives. Denmark, for example, realized a cost savings of 64% after instituting a mandatory national switch from the originator infliximab to its biosimilar counterpart. In the U.S., however, a considerably smaller fraction of rheumatologists…