The new diagnostic code should streamline billing for treatment of nr-axSpA, better define the spectrum of spondyloarthritic diseases and enable new research strategies into these conditions.

Larry Beresford |
The new diagnostic code should streamline billing for treatment of nr-axSpA, better define the spectrum of spondyloarthritic diseases and enable new research strategies into these conditions.
Recent research reinforces the finding that psoriasis patients have a slightly increased risk of cancer, specifically keratinocyte cancer and lymphomas. However, the study found no association between cancer and the use of biologic treatments in this patient population…
In patients with active ankylosing spondylitis, IL-17 inhibitors have produced favorable responses, according to recent research…
ACR BEYOND LIVE—Much, if not all, of rheumatology relies on clinical interpretation of historical, laboratory and imaging information to formulate a coherent diagnosis and treatment plan—even when such information is incomplete or has multiple possible interpretations. One of the best examples of this situation pertains to nonradiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA), a condition that is just…
Luis A. Marcos, MD, MPH, Saika Sharmeen, DO, Jaime Gonzalez, MD, Qingping Yao, MD, PhD, Bettina Fries, MD, & Jack Fuhrer, MD |
In March 2020, an elderly married couple living on Long Island, N.Y., presented to our emergency department with symptoms suspicious for COVID-19 infection. The wife, a-76-year-old woman, presented with complaints of subjective fevers, minimal dry cough and headaches of one-week duration. She denied having any chills, rhinorrhea, diarrhea, abdominal pain or shortness of breath. Two…
Reuters Staff |
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—The ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic has raised concerns about whether biologic therapy could make psoriasis patients more susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID-19. Mark Lebwohl, MD, from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and colleagues address this issue in a letter in the Journal of the…
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…
Historically, ankylosing spondylitis was considered mainly a male disease. But it has become evident this predominance is not as great as previously believed. Here we discuss recent developments in the area, including potential differences between the sexes in symptom and disease burden, immunological and genetic background, diagnostic delay, treatment response and ongoing research questions. Medical…
Dan Reynolds, the lead singer of the Grammy award-winning band Imagine Dragons, has partnered with Novartis to increase awareness of ankylosing spondylitis.
A 2019 update of the ACR’s previous clinical practice guideline on axial spondyloarthritis is now available online. Lead investigator Michael Ward, MD, shares advice for implementing the guideline updates, including those related to sequencing and tapering biologics, and knowing when to obtain images.