SAN FRANCISCO—“We haven’t made a lot of progress in ensuring the early diagnosis of spondyloarthritis,” said Walter Maksymowych, MD, FRCP, professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology at the University of Alberta and chief medical officer at CaRE (Canadian Research and Education) Arthritis, both in Edmonton. Speaking at the California Rheumatology Alliance 2016 Medical…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—More than 40% of patients with early inflammatory back pain suggestive of axial spondyloarthritis (SpA) show bone loss over the course of two years, according to French researchers. SpA is known to be associated with bone loss at the spine and the hip and an increased risk of vertebral fractures. To investigate…
ATLANTA—The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) has released new recommendations for the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (SpA). The guideline was developed with the Spondylitis Association of America (SAA) and the Spondyloarthritis Research and Treatment Network. It summarizes recommendations for both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatments, including rehabilitation, management of patients with…
Latest findings on rheumatological drug therapies, including methotrexate for RA, tumor necrosis factor inhibitors for SpA
Rheumatologists at the California Rheumatology Alliance 10th Annual Medical & Scientific Meeting discuss challenges to diagnosing, managing spondyloarthritides
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Maksymowych et al. assessed the frequency of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) according to extra-articular presentation and human leukocyte antigen B27 (HLA-B27) status and sought to identify features that distinguish patients with axSpA from those with non-specific back pain. Their data support recommendations that patients with chronic back pain and extra-articular features related to axSpA be screened for axSpA with MRI and referred to a rheumatologist.
The FDA has approved bimekizumab-bkzx for the treatment of adults with psoriatic arthritis, non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.