Systemic sclerosis (SSc), a subtype of scleroderma, is a rare, complex autoimmune disease characterized by widespread vasculopathy of the small arteries and fibroblast dysfunction.1,2 It has been described as a fibrosing microvascular disease, because vascular injury precedes and leads to tissue fibrosis.3 The resulting Raynaud’s phenomenon, pain, skin thickening and tightening, and multi-organ involvement have…
This year’s ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, which takes place Nov. 3–8 in San Diego, features several opportunities to learn more about the ACR’s Rheumatology Informatics System for Effectiveness (RISE) Registry, and the data and tools it offers rheumatologists. For the first time, RISE data will be presented at the Annual Meeting by rheumatologists outside of the ACR’s…
MADRID—Scores on the Health Assessment Questionnaire for Rheumatoid Arthritis (HAQ) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were independent predictors of whether patients could be tapered successfully from a TNF inhibitor after having reached remission of their RA, according to findings presented in a session at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology. Researchers also developed a composite…
MADRID—Researchers say that whole-body MRI could yield an earlier diagnosis of spondyloarthropathy (SpA) in patients with early inflammatory joint symptoms, according to findings presented in a poster session at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR). The approach could lead to earlier treatment and better outcomes, they say. Investigators at the University of Leeds recruited…
MADRID—Tofacitinib (a JAK inhibitor) used with methotrexate (MTX) is not inferior to adalimumab (a TNF inhibitor) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who’ve had an inadequate response to MTX alone, according to results of a Phase 3B/4 trial presented in a session at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR). The findings came in a one-year…
It’s a bit ironic that when injured people are in pain—and their mobility is reduced—they are often expected to travel to a physical therapy clinic. For millions of people, such trips are a burden. In Australia, however, some patients are “letting movement come to them.” Novel research from The University of Melbourne shows that taking…
Treat-to-target is a widely used approach for rheumatoid arthritis, in which rheumatologists prescribe treatments to reach established benchmarks of disease activity.1 Is it time for a similar approach for fibromyalgia treatment, even though its pathogenesis, disease-activity measures and treatment algorithms are less well understood? Three fibromyalgia researchers present their case in a new paper, “Treat-to-Target…
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease associated with erosive destruction of diarthrodial joints. Patients who are seropositive are more prone to developing extra-articular manifestations, such as rheumatoid lung, rheumatoid nodules and others. With the development of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), the incidence and severity of these extra-articular manifestations has declined. Below, we describe…
In recent years, scientists and clinicians have learned a great deal about autoantibodies occurring in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs). These new discoveries have reshaped our understanding of distinct clinical phenotypes in IIMs. Scientists continue to learn more about how these autoantibodies shape pathophysiology, diagnosis, disease monitoring, prognosis and optimum treatment. Moving forward, these autoantibodies will…
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…