GCA, GPA, myositis, new research—rheumatology care keeps clinicians on their toes & requires them to stay up to date…

GCA, GPA, myositis, new research—rheumatology care keeps clinicians on their toes & requires them to stay up to date…
How does a patient transition from health to active SLE? This question is the crux of the research conducted by Judith A. James, MD, PhD, and colleagues…
Will Boggs, MD |
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Low-dose methotrexate can be associated with gastrointestinal, pulmonary, infectious, hematologic and other adverse effects, according to an analysis of the Cardiovascular Inflammation Reduction Trial (CIRT). “Methotrexate is not a benign drug, even at dosages used for rheumatic diseases,” Daniel H. Solomon, MD, MPH of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, tells Reuters Health…
FDA advisory committees rejected the new drug application for oxycodegol, an opioid analgesic, due to a lack of data regarding it’s potential for abuse…
Recent research assessed the risk of gout in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus prescribed sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors compared with those prescribed a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist. The study found patients on the SGLT2 inhibitor had a lower rate of gout, suggesting SGLT2 inhibitors may actually reduce the risk of gout among this patient population…
The Stark law and the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) are the U.S. healthcare system’s primary fraud and abuse laws, and highly anticipated proposed reform plans from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) were finally unveiled on Oct. 17, 2019. The proposed reforms would 1) clarify certain requirements…
A recent study published in Lupus Science & Medicine lays out five of the top barriers impeding progress in lupus diagnosis and treatment.1 The Addressing Lupus Pillars for Health Advancement project (ALPHA), led by the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA), researchers at the Tufts School of Medicine Center for the Study of Drug Development (Tufts…
Mike Fillon |
ATLANTA—The rheumatology profession faces a severe shortfall of practitioners that threatens the ability to address patients’ needs. “Even if we doubled the number of positions for fellowship training, we wouldn’t meet the increasing demand on our workforce,” said Marcy B. Bolster, MD, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston, and director of the…
Mike Fillon |
ATLANTA—The Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), headquartered in New York City, uses community-based participatory research (CBPR) models to develop patient programs. One popular self-help program for arthritis patients evolved from a different initiative focused on orthopedic pain management, according to speakers in a session at the 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting. According to Titilayo Ologhobo, MPH,…
In Arkansas, where according to the Arthritis Foundation 672,000 people live with arthritis, it’s not unusual for patients to travel at least 100 miles to see a rheumatologist.1 Michael Saitta, MD, a rheumatologist at the Arthritis Center of the Ozarks, Fayetteville, and president of the Arkansas Rheumatology Association (ARA), says patient access is a huge…