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

A Combined Immunosuppressive Regimen for ILD MDA5-Positive Dermatomyositis

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Interstitial lung disease accompanied by anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 positive dermatomyositis is often rapidly progressive and associated with poor prognosis. In this study, a combined immunosuppressive regimen of high-dose glucocorticoids, tacrolimus and intravenous cyclophosphamide proved more effective than treatment with high-dose glucocorticoids and stepwise addition of an immunosuppressant in a historical control group.

Increasing Opioid Dose May Not Help Chronic Pain

David Douglas  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—In patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain, an increase in opioid dosage appears to be of no clear benefit, according to a two-year study. As Benjamin J. Morasco, PhD, tells Reuters Health by email, “When we followed patients with chronic pain, who were already prescribed long-term opioid therapy, we found patients as a…

Low-Dose Methotrexate Can Cause Adverse Effects

Will Boggs, MD  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Low-dose methotrexate can be associated with gastrointestinal, pulmonary, infectious, hematologic and other adverse effects, according to an analysis of the Cardiovascular Inflammation Reduction Trial (CIRT). “Methotrexate is not a benign drug, even at dosages used for rheumatic diseases,” Daniel H. Solomon, MD, MPH of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, tells Reuters Health…