A phase 3 clinical trial in which researchers treated lupus patients with blisibimod, a biologic treatment that inhibits B cell activating factor (BAFF), did not meet its primary endpoint, but did demonstrate evidence of possible efficacy. Researcher Joan T. Merrill, MD, a member of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) and OMRF professor of medicine…
Patients can experience many different types of pain, and some patients with chronic pain may believe that only opioids will help them. According to Kelly Weselman, MD, the best way to begin managing pain is to determine its root cause and communicate with the patient about the best approach(es) for decreasing their specific pain…
SAN DIEGO—Top researchers gathered for a review course at the start of the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in November to describe new research, their own treatment strategies and new ways of thinking about an array of rheumatic diseases. Here are the highlights: Raynaud’s & Other Digit Problems When a patient walks into your clinic with…
Two decades have passed since the first biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (bDMARD) was approved. Studies on the long-term use of biologics in different disease states, such as for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and malignancy, as well as for knee/hip replacement, reveal some encouraging news. In clinical trials, bDMARDs have been shown to increase the risk of…
Mysterious Ways The juxtaposition of the old and the new was readily evident that busy Wednesday morning. My first patient, a 94-year-old gentleman, Hal, arrived with a precise request. His rheumatologist for the past 40 years had just retired, and he was searching for a doctor with expertise in the use of gold sodium aurothioglucose,…
Preconception planning is essential to help women with autoimmune disease have optimal pregnancy outcomes. Unplanned pregnancy can also negatively impact disease course in some patients. Yet many rheumatologic patients of childbearing age do not receive adequate contraception or prepregnancy education and counseling. Rheumatologists must work collaboratively with other healthcare providers to make sure rheumatic patients…
A 22-year-old Indian male presented to the emergency department with hemoptysis. A month prior, he had presented to an urgent care center complaining of cough with occasional episodes of blood-tinged sputum in the morning. He was diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia based on a chest X-ray without laboratory testing and was prescribed levofloxacin. A few days…
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…
The patient was a 48-year-old woman who saw her primary care physician for a flu-like illness three months prior to admission. Her symptoms initially improved, but recurred one month later; she was treated symptomatically, and again symptoms resolved. Two months later, she presented to an outside facility’s emergency department with fever to 103ºF, with associated…
The FDA has approved abatacept to treat adults with active psoriatic arthritis. In clinical trials, the treatment has proved effective in both intravenous and subcutaneous forms…