Psoriatic arthritis came to be viewed as a distinct disease entity with specific clinical features, genetics and pathophysiology only gradually. One important historic development in this transition was a 1973 paper written by a pair of researchers out of Leeds, England: John M. Moll, BSc, DM, and Verna Wright, MD, FRCP.1 Here we discuss the…
Eosinophilic fasciitis generally presents with the acute onset of edema followed by progressive skin induration in the setting of hypergammaglobulinemia, an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and peripheral eosinophilia in 63–93% of patients.1,2 Skin involvement is typically limited to 20.1% of total body surface area and most commonly involves the extremities symmetrically.1,3 The condition was…
Over the past few years, biosimilars and other new drugs have been introduced to treat rheumatic illnesses. Some of the conditions we treat have numerous drug option; others have few or only off-label options. This series, “Rheumatology Drugs at a Glance,” provides streamlined information on the administration of biologic, biosimilar and other medications used to…
A group led by Sarah Ringold, MD, MS, assistant professor of rheumatology at Seattle Children’s Hospital, has developed a new guideline intended to provide recommendations for the treatment and monitoring of children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) manifesting as non-systemic polyarthritis, sacroiliitis or enthesitis.1,2 Key Updates The new recommendations appear in both Arthritis & Rheumatology…
In a second response letter, the FDA has cited the onset and duration of intravenous meloxicam, a non-opioid pain treatment, as concerns that it fails to meet prescriber expectations…
Antibody-secreting cells are important for the pathophysiology of SLE and RA, but researchers have been unable to determine how these cells are activated. A new technique is able to distinguish between naïve autoreactive B cells and established antibody secreting cells…
Using vibrational spectroscopy, investigators have discovered a characteristic signature in the blood of fibromyalgia patients that is distinct from other clinical conditions, including RA, OA and SLE…
Over the past decade, physicians, patients and policy makers have expressed increasing concern about the high frequency of opioids being prescribed and the association between opioid use and poor outcomes. Rates of opioid prescriptions in the general population rose considerably from the 1990s through 2010, with a plateau in the early 2010s. In 2015, 38%…
LONDON (Reuters)—Scientists in the U.S. say they have taken a step toward developing a possible diagnostic test for chronic fatigue syndrome, a condition characterized by exhaustion and other debilitating symptoms. Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine say a pilot study of 40 people, half of whom were healthy and half of whom had the…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Rates of osteoporotic fracture were similar three years after starting either denosumab or alendronate in a real-world Danish population-based cohort study. “Previous studies have shown that denosumab is more efficacious than alendronate in increasing bone mineral density (BMD), possibly the best proxy outcome for subsequent fracture risk. However, previous studies were underpowered…