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Anti-TNF-Associated Skin Lesions Common in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Will Boggs, MD  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) commonly develop skin lesions related to anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) medications, according to a retrospective study. “We were most surprised by the relatively high percentage (30%) of patients developing skin problems while being treated with anti-TNF agents,” Dr. Isabelle Cleynen from KU Leuven, Belgium, tells Reuters…

2015 ACR Guideline for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis

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“Treat to target regardless of disease activity level” tops the list of recommendations for both early and established RA in the 2015 Guideline for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis. The guideline addresses six major topics, including DMARDs, glucocorticoids and biologics, and includes 74 recommendations. These recommendations are not prescriptive, and the treatment decisions should be made by physicians and patients together…

Sjögrens Syndrome: The Need to Bridge Patient Symptoms & Objective Findings

Sjögrens Syndrome: The Need to Bridge Patient Symptoms & Objective Findings

Robert I. Fox, MD, PhD, & Carla M. Fox, RN  |  

Despite a generation of advances in molecular biology, a huge gap exists between the Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) patient’s description of their symptoms and the objective findings. Current issues include: Many SS patients are misclassified as either rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), even within rheumatology clinics. Frequently, the sickest SS patients with extraglandular…

Improve RA Care with Vitamin D

Dewan K. Fahima, DO, & Rafah Salloum, MD  |  

Background Autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythema­tous, occur when the body attacks its own tissue because it cannot differentiate between self and non-self. This is mainly through deregulation of the immune system. Vitamin D has been known to play a critical role in bone mineralization and bone health. Activated vitamin…

Rheumatologist Steven S. Overman Reflects on His Last Day of Practice, Future of Specialty

Steven S. Overman, MD, MPH • illustrations by Alice C. Gray  |  

I am a few weeks post-retirement. Having written thank you notes and completed urgent home projects, I swing in a hammock at our currently fire-threatened cabin north of Winthrop, Wash., and reflect. I feel like a young boy while freely flipping pages of a hand-scribed picture book, The Principles of Uncertainty, by Maira Kalman. She…

2015 ACR Guideline for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis Now Available

American College of Rheumatology  |  

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…

Methotrexate Increases Risk of Recurrent Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer

Will Boggs, MD  |  

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…

Phase 3 Trials: Secukinumab for Psoriatic Arthritis & DA-DKP for OA

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In a global Phase 3 trial, subcutaneous secukinumab proved safe and effective in patients with psoriatic arthritis. Also, a version of aspartyl-alanyl diketopiperazine, a biologic for knee OA, has entered Phase 3 trials…