Treatment with denosumab for patients with RA and glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis led to greater increases in bone mineral density of the lumbar spine and hips of patients than treatment with risedronate.

Treatment with denosumab for patients with RA and glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis led to greater increases in bone mineral density of the lumbar spine and hips of patients than treatment with risedronate.
Furuta et al. evaluated the benefits of reducing glucocorticoid doses during remission induction for patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis. The researchers found a reduced-dose-glucocorticoid-plus-rituximab regimen was noninferior to a regimen of high-dose glucocorticoids plus rituximab in these patients.
On May 6, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Arthritis Advisory Committee narrowly voted in support of avacopan, a C5a receptor inhibitor, for the treatment of adult patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis. Although the panelists were excited about the possibility of a steroid-sparing therapy, some raised questions about whether results from…
In a small study, patients with GCA maintained remission after receiving three days of treatment with methylprednisolone followed by tocilizumab.
A phase 3 trial described in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) highlights the potential of a C5a receptor inhibitor, avacopan, for anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis.1 Avacopan may potentially offer a steroid-sparing option for the treatment of this serious disease. Current Treatment of ANCA-Associated Vasculitis Morbidity and mortality from ANCA-associated vasculitis have…
Matthew Phelan |
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Long-term glucocorticoid users see greater gains in spine bone-mineral density when treated with the monoclonal antibody denosumab vs. oral alendronate, a small clinical trial shows. The drug also proved superior at lowering bone-turnover markers at 12 months, researchers in Hong Kong report in Bone.1 “Denosumab may be considered as an alternative first-line…
During ACR Convergence 2020, Jinoos Yazdany, MD, MPH, discussed innovative research into a potential treatment for lupus, medication tapering & more. These findings may influence the treatment of rheumatic disease in the future.
Gene Emery |
(Reuters Health)—People with stiff and aching knees due to arthritis get better relief from physical therapy than from cortisone injections, according to a one-year military study comparing the two treatments. A multi-disciplinary team of doctors reports in The New England Journal of Medicine that people who initially scored 107 on a 241-point scale measuring a…
Eugene Kissin, MD, RhMSUS, & Catherine Bakewell, MD, RhMSUS |
Presentation A 30-year-old woman presented to her rheumatologist for left foot pain of three weeks’ duration. She was followed for systemic lupus erythematosus manifesting in arthritis and hemolytic anemia, as well as anti-nuclear antibody and Smith antibody positivity, and was treated with hydroxychloroquine and prednisone in the 2.5–10 mg per day range. She was symptom…
Arthritis Care & Research |
New research examined the frequency of osteoporosis screening and treatment for RA patients from 2003–2014, including four years following the release of the 2010 ACR guideline on glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis prevention and treatment. The results: Approximately half of RA patients for whom treatment was indicated never received osteoporosis medication. Researchers also found that RA patients, despite their increased risk for developing osteoporosis, were not more likely to receive osteoporosis care than OA patients…