In May, the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) published its recommendations for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis (PsA).1 The updated recommendations represent advances in drug development and availability since previous recommendations published in 2009, as well changes in treatment paradigms and the importance of associated aspects of the disease.2…
The Role of Benign Joint Hypermobility in Functional Pain Disorders
Physicians have been puzzled by the role of benign joint hypermobility syndrome in the development of gastrointestinal disorders and other autonomic symptoms and co-morbidities. However, new research found that benign joint hypermobility syndrome only minimally affects autonomic abnormalities…
Researchers Calculate Comorbidity Burden for Patients with SLE
A recent study from the U.K. calculated the incidence of comorbidity associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), specifically looking for cardiovascular disease, stroke, end-stage renal failure, cancer, osteoporosis and infection. Even after adjusting for age, sex and other variables, investigators found that people with SLE have an increased global burden of comorbidity compared with the general population. Additionally, the study found that men with SLE had higher rates of cardiovascular disease, stroke and cancer, while women with SLE had higher rates of infection and osteoporosis. Overall, younger people with SLE had the greatest relative risk compared with controls…
Autoimmune Diseases Common in Patients with Vitiligo
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Patients with vitiligo commonly have other autoimmune diseases, according to a cross-sectional study. “Vitiligo is a systemic disease with multiple comorbidities,” Dr. Iltefat Hamzavi from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Mich., told Reuters Health by email. “The number of patients with neurologic diseases and inflammatory disease was much higher than we anticipated.”…
Psoriatic Disease Linked to Higher Risk of Uveitis & Vice Versa
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Two classes of inflammatory diseases, uveitis and psoriatic disease, appear linked, as a diagnosis of one increases the risk of developing the other, new research has found. A study of Danish patient registries found nearly triple the rate of uveitis among patients with psoriatic arthritis compared to the general population, and double…
Psoriatic Arthritis: Recognize, Manage Comorbidities
As the literature on comorbidities linked to psoriatic arthritis (PsA) expands, it’s becoming more difficult for clinicians to keep up with what comorbidities should be assessed and how these comorbidities affect treatment selection. Given this, rheumatologists at the Perelman School of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania, Cleveland Clinic and Hospital for Special Surgery in New…
ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting 2012: New Research Delves Into the Risk of Comorbidities for Patients with Lupus
Studying factors that may lead to life-threatening comorbidities such as lymphoma and thrombosis could give rheumatologists clearer direction on treating patients with SLE