In multiple trials, baricitinib has proved promising for treating RA. Also, the FDA is requiring drug-interaction studies for sodium polystyrene sulfonate…
The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) announced the availability of its 2015 Guideline for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) during the 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in San Francisco. An early draft of the recommendations was presented at last year’s meeting in Boston, and the final recommendations are now available on the ACR website. The…
(Reuters)—Indiana-based medical device manufacturer Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. on Friday was cleared of liability in the first of more than 900 U.S. lawsuits to go to trial over claims that its NexGen Flex knee replacements were prone to painful, motion-impairing loosening. Following a three-week trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of…
NIH Director Francis Collins, MD, PhD, is working to improve funding for research into new treatments for lupus and RA through the Accelerating Medicines Partnership, a coalition of private and public partners identifying and validating promising biological targets for therapeutics…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Helicobacter and Campylobacter species appear to play opposing roles in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to a systematic review and meta-analysis. The prevalence of IBD has increased steadily in the face of falling H. pylori infection rates, suggesting a negative association, whereas some studies have suggested that some Campylobacter species are involved…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Providing more care than necessary may work to lower a doctor’s risk of being accused of malpractice, suggests a new U.S. study. Although the results can’t prove extra expenditures are due to defensive medicine, the researchers found that doctors in Florida who provided the most costly care between 2000 and 2009 were…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Methotrexate appears to increase the risk of recurrent nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a retrospective study. “We have known for some time that several of the immunosuppressive agents used to treat RA and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are also associated with an increased risk of…
The German Psoriasis Registry, PsoBest, found conventional systemic and biologic drugs for psoriasis demonstrated relative safety from serious adverse events in patients between January 2008–December 2012…
Preventing infection in patients with RA should be a consideration for rheumatologists prescribing disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs after a Swedish study found patients on these therapies have a 6.1% risk of developing serious infection.