Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease that affects approximately 1% of the adult population, and involvement of extra-articular tissue occurs in approximately 40% of patients over their lifetimes.1 RA-associated pericardial disease is an uncommon complication, and surgery is the only definitive therapy—according to current literature. In this report, we present the case of…
The Scottish Medicines Consortium has released a detailed advice document recommending risankizumab for treating adults with psoriasis…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Iguratimod, a disease-modifying drug marketed in China and Japan, appears to be effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and possibly other autoimmune diseases, while protecting against adverse bone effects, researchers from China say. Iguratimod is a methane sulfonanilide compound that influences several anti-inflammatory and immune-modulatory pathways and has an anabolic effect on…
MADRID—Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is among the most common autoimmune diseases in the U.S., affecting approximately 1.3 million U.S. adults.1 Although tremendous treatment advances have been made in recent years, one extra-articular manifestation of RA that continues to pose a challenge with regard to detection and management is interstitial lung disease (ILD). At the 2019 European…
MADRID—During the 2019 European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR), held June 12–15, speakers addressed the complexity of vasculitis in a Challenges in Clinical Practice session titled, How to Maintain Remission in Vasculitis. Although vasculitis appears in many varieties, one commonality exists among these related yet distinct conditions: When there is vital organ or systemic involvement, disease…
Scleroderma renal crisis (SRC) is a life-threatening complication of systemic sclerosis. SRC occurs in 2–15% of patients with diffuse sclerosis and usually within the first five years from the time of diagnosis. Risk factors for SRC include, but are not limited to, early diagnosis, corticosteroid or cyclosporine use, and the presence of anti-RNA polymerase III…
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…
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune inflammatory disease. Although RA develops its central pathology within the synovium of diarthrodial joints, many non-articular organs can be involved, particularly in patients with severe joint disease.1 Although most patients are asymptomatic, cardiac involvement is relatively common and includes rheumatic heart nodules, pericarditis (30–50%), pericardial effusion and…
Two JAK inhibitors, one recently approved by the FDA, have shown improvements in patients with active RA for whom other therapies have proved ineffective…
CHICAGO—At the 2019 ACR State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium, an annual gathering featuring talks by key opinion leaders on the most salient topics for practicing rheumatologists and healthcare providers, Jose U. Scher, MD, director of the Microbiome Center for Rheumatology and Autoimmunity at NYU Langone Medical Center, New York City, was the featured speaker. In his remarks,…