Sapart et al. suggest a combination of methotrexate and biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs as induction therapy for patients with early RA may lead to long-term remission.
Hydroxychloroquine Combination Risky for Cancer Patients with COVID-19
CHICAGO (Reuters)—Cancer patients with COVID-19 who were treated with a drug combination promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump to counter the coronavirus were three times more likely to die within 30 days than those who got either drug alone, U.S. researchers reported on May 28. The preliminary results suggest doctors may want to refrain from…
Case Report: A Patient with Clinically Amyotrophic Dermatomyositis & Associated ILD & RA Overlap
Clinically amyotrophic dermatomyositis (CADM), a subset of dermatomyositis (DM), is a rare autoimmune disease characterized by typical DM cutaneous findings (e.g., heliotrope rash, Gottron papules, Gottron sign) without evidence of myositis.1 The incidence of DM and CADM is approximately 9.63 per 1 million people and 2.08 per 1 million people, respectively.2 The association with development…
RA Patients May Safely Stop Methotrexate in Tofacitinib Combination Therapy
RA patients who achieve low disease activity on tofacitinib and methotrexate combination therapy can safely cease methotrexate use, according to recent research…
Upadacitinib + Methotrexate & Other csDMARDs in RA Patients
A post-hoc analysis showed upadacitinib is safe and effective for treating RA patients when used with methotrexate or non-methotrexate csDMARDs…
Rheumatoid Arthritis Research Advances
SAN DIEGO—In a roundup of current research in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) presented at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting Nov. 3–8, Mark C. Genovese, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Immunology and Rheumatology at Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif., urged his audience to reflect on the impact therapy advances have made on RA. “In…
The Future of Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment
SAN DIEGO—The next era of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) therapy could involve combining anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) drugs with drugs that target molecules regulating the destructive potential of synovial fibroblasts, or even with anti-angiogenic drugs, said a pioneer of RA biologics therapy at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting Nov. 3–8. Ravinder N. Maini, MD, professor of…
Certolizumab Pegol Combination Therapy Better than Methotrexate Monotherapy in DMARD-Naive Patients with RA
A recent study found that certolizumab pegol plus methotrexate is effective in achieving sustained remission and low disease activity in patients with early active RA…
Certolizumab Combo Helps Curb RA Damage
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Certolizumab pegol (Cimzia, UCB Pharma) in combination with methotrexate does better than methotrexate alone in certain patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to one-year results from a new trial. As Dr. Paul Emery of the University of Leeds, UK, explains in an email to Reuters Health, “This study used a unique…
Combination Therapy Bests Monotherapy in Severe Postmenopausal Osteoporosis
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—The combination of denosumab and teriparatide improves bone microarchitecture and estimated strength more than either drug alone in women with severe postmenopausal osteoporosis, researchers have found. Dr. Joy Tsai, from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues conducted a single-site, two-year, open-label, randomized controlled trial involving 94 women aged 45 or older…