A recent study has taken a more detailed look at the relationship between physical activity and the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Researchers found the more patients exercised weekly the lower their overall risk, specifically brisk and very brisk walking paces, along with longer cumulative average walking hours weekly were associated with a reduced risk for RA…
Apremilast was first marketed in March 2014 for the treatment of adults with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). An immunomodulating drug, which is a small molecule inhibitor of phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) specific for cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), apremilast is administered orally. By inhibiting PDE4, intracellular cAMP levels are increased. Although the exact mechanism of action is not…
Results from an ethics survey presented to attendees at the 2018 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting highlight the complexities and challenges of assessing potential conflicts of interest.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Mortality rates in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody-associated vasculitis (AAV) decreased from 1999 to 2017, according to records from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “The mortality attributed to several rare diseases [e.g., hypersensitivity pneumonitis] has increased in recent years,” Alexander W. Steinberg, MD, from Saint Joseph Hospital, Denver, tells…
NEW YORK (Reuters)—AbbVie Inc.’s rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira (adalimumab) and Roche Holding AG’s cancer drug Rituxan (rituximab) topped a list of seven treatments whose combined 2017 and 2018 price hikes accounted for a $5.1 billion increase in U.S. spending, a report released on Tuesday showed.1 The price hikes were more than twice the rate of…
Dan Reynolds, the lead singer of the Grammy award-winning band Imagine Dragons, has partnered with Novartis to increase awareness of ankylosing spondylitis.
RheumPAC is the ACR’s non-partisan political action committee, which promotes the needs of rheumatology providers and patients. Advocacy efforts often focus on legislation to improve the day-to-day clinical care of rheumatology patients, such as establishing clinical exceptions to step therapy requirements and reforming the prior authorization process. In addition, the ACR and RheumPAC recognize the…
Researchers who devote their time to studying lupus are accustomed to considering environmental stimuli such as sunshine and cigarettes. But according to Gregg J. Silverman, MD, a professor in the Department of Medicine and in the Department of Pathology at the New York University (NYU) School of Medicine and co-director of the Musculoskeletal Center of…
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) associated polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is an increasingly rare vasculitis in developed countries due to advances in HBV vaccination and antiviral therapy. However, the condition does persist, and rheumatologists should consider it when evaluating vasculitis cases. Below, we discuss a case that illustrates the varied clinical presentations PAN can encompass. A high…
The body uses B cells to produce antibodies that can fight off infection by invading antigens and bacteria. But in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the immune system produces autoantibodies that work against the body’s proteins to attack joint tissues. Researchers believe this process is helped along by autoreactive B cells that live in bone matter and…