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TNF Inhibitors Do Not Seem to Boost Cancer-Recurrence Rates

Will Boggs, MD  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors do not appear to increase cancer-recurrence rates in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to new findings from Sweden. TNF has both tumor-promoting and cancer-protective effects, so TNF inhibitors could conceivably affect the risk for cancer recurrence. However, few studies have reported the risk for cancer relapse…

Effects of Obesity on Sustained Remission in Early RA

Arthritis Care & Research  |  

A new study examined the independent effects of excess weight and obesity on achieving sustained remission in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Researchers found that within three years of RA diagnosis, overweight and obese patients were significantly less likely to achieve sustained remission than patients with healthy body mass indices (BMIs). Higher BMIs were also associated with persistent disease activity…

Study Supports Safety of Infliximab in Pregnancy

Reuters Staff  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—New registry data should help reassure women with Crohn’s disease (CD) who need to continue infliximab during pregnancy that it won’t harm their baby. “The clinical condition of infants born to women with gestational infliximab exposure was similar to those without exposure,” the study team reports online July 19 in the American…

The Pros & Cons of Combining Different Specialties Under One Roof

Gregory C. Gardner, MD, FACP  |  

Many rheumatology patients have complex conditions and require the added expertise of colleagues in other fields, such as pulmonology, neurology or dermatology. This is even more true when patients with complex care issues are referred to academic medical centers. At such centers, patients often travel hours for an appointment and see more than one provider….

Study Results for 9 New Psoriatic Arthritis Drugs

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CHICAGO—As Eric Ruderman, MD, professor of medicine in rheumatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, began his talk on psoriatic arthritis treatment at the ACR State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium in April, he marveled a bit at how much there was to cover. Drugs gaining prominence in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and dermatological…

Flare Risk Increases When Medication Is Stopped Prior to Arthroplasty

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After total hip or knee arthroplasty, flares are common in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a recently published study.1 Higher disease activity at baseline appears to be linked to flares, but use of such medications as biologics and methotrexate did not independently predict flaring. “Contrary to the notion that patients with established RA…

Looking for Links Between Rheumatoid Arthritis & Gut Bacteria, Mutations

Renée Bacher  |  

Patients with a specific genetic predisposition for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may want to take precautions when consuming certain types of meat, dairy and produce grown with cow manure, according to a new study out of the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando. The study, which assessed 100 RA patients, published in the journal Frontiers…

ACR/ARHP Visits the Hill; Drug Pricing ‘Blueprint’ Revealed

Angus Worthing  |  

Greetings, Advocates! In my last update, I described the great news from February’s budget agreement that fixed Medicare’s payment adjustments so MIPS penalties would not include Part B drug costs, ensuring stabilization of the Medicare Part B drug system, among other successes. (Read the ACR’s press release on this topic.) I also described the Trump administration’s…