Sternoclavicular joint involvement has rarely been reported in the context of active rheumatoid arthritis (RA).1 Traditionally, rheumatologists use serial radiographs of hands and feet to diagnose, monitor for progression or evaluate the response to treatment. The sternoclavicular (SC) joint is not a typical joint assessed for RA. However, the fact that it is a diarthrodial…
Recognizing the need to provide guidance on the current disparate management of polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), in collaboration with the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR), recently published the first international set of recommendations for the screening, treatment and management of PMR.1,2 Specifically, the recommendations offer guidance on the use of…
On May 23, 2010, Cindy Abbott was standing on top of the world. She had spent the past 51 days climbing Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world, and had finally reached the summit. “I was very anxious to get off and get back down,” she says, adding that the summit is about the…
San Francisco is known for the Gold Rush, so it’s a particularly fitting place to collect a gold nugget. And so at the 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in the Golden Gate City in November, the ACR and the ARHP honored a group of distinguished individuals who have made significant contributions to rheumatology research, education and…
According to former ACR President Michael Weinblatt, MD, the future of drug therapies for patients with RA rests in the careful and intelligent prescription of current medications and treatment combinations, as well as better patient access through lower costs…
A recent study examined the outcomes of care for RA patients provided by nurse practitioners or physician assistants working in tandem with rheumatologists, compared with that provided exclusively by rheumatologists. Over the two-year course of the study, results indicated that not only was care not compromised, but RA disease activity control may actually have been slightly better in these practices…
In multiple clinical studies, investigational biosimilars for etanercept were shown to be safe and effective for treating rheumatoid arthritis and moderate to severe plaque psoriasis…
I sometimes find myself mired in sticky clinical circumstances. I am facing a distraught patient who is seeking my opinion about a condition that, according to some, may not truly belong in the rheumatologist’s bailiwick. Case example: hearing loss. The Steroid Test Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) and its relative, autoimmune inner ear disease (AIED),…
Brentuximab Vedotin Enters Phase 2 Trials Brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris), an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) directed at CD30, is currently entering Phase 2 clinical trials for treating systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).1 The ADC encompasses an anti-CD30 monoclonal antibody, which is attached by a protease-cleavable linker to a microtubule-disrupting agent, known as monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE). The ADC…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Obese patients with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis are apt to experience significant symptomatic relief following bariatric surgery, according to a new chart review. Specifically, the study found that more than half of the patients with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis reported improvements in their disease following surgery. Dr. Soumya Reddy, assistant professor of…