Based on decades of data from dietary and other lifestyle interventions, doctors have long known that significant weight loss can be an effective treatment for people who are overweight and have knee osteoarthritis (OA). One meta-analysis showed that OA pain, function and stiffness scores improved by 2% for every 1% in lost weight.1 But the…
A new study questions whether acetaminophen is a risk-free pain reliever for patients aged 65 and older, including those with osteoarthritis (OA). Although acetaminophen is often touted as an alternative to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, a population-based cohort study found it carried an increased risk of peptic ulcers, bleeding and other side…
In an ACR Convergence 2022 session, Robert Spiera, MD, director of the Scleroderma, Vasculitis, and Myositis Center at the Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City, discussed the use of sarilumab as a potential glucocorticoid-sparing therapy in a phase 3 study in patients with treatment-refractory polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), one of the most common inflammatory diseases…
On Feb. 28, 2023, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved sarilumab (Kevzara) for the treatment of adults with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) for whom glucocorticoids have proved inadequate or who cannot tolerate a glucocorticoid taper.1,2 Sarilumab is an interleukin (IL) 6 receptor antagonist. In May 2017, the FDA initially approved the agent for the…
Patients with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) who had relapsed while tapering glucocorticoid therapy were more likely to achieve sustained remission at one year and have a lower glucocorticoid exposure if they were treated with sarilumab (Kevzara) plus a rapid, 14-week glucocorticoid taper than if they received placebo plus a standard, 52-week glucocorticoid taper. This is according…
A minority of patients with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) who were new to rheumatology practice were prescribed steroid-sparing agents through two years of follow-up. This is according to a large, U.S.-based cohort study, published in Arthritis Care & Research, which also found that nearly two-thirds of the patients remained on glucocorticoids beyond one year.1 “Our study…
Background/Purpose Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) treatment is primarily based on long-term corticosteroids, which results in significant toxicities. Studies have shown that patients with PMR are exposed to years of corticosteroid treatment.1,2 In a single academic center cohort, we found that 76% of patients remained on steroids at the end of two years.3 In a second cohort…
Background/Purpose It has been reported that 20–50% of patients with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) have subclinical giant cell arteritis (GCA). The natural history of ultrasound-defined subclinical GCA in PMR is not known. Methods Twenty-five newly diagnosed PMR patients who met a clinical diagnosis for PMR, verified by two rheumatologists, were examined by ultrasound. All six branches…
As with rheumatology care in general, the current demand for pediatric rheumatologists is greater than the supply of providers available. That imbalance is expected to increase significantly by 2030 unless action is taken, according to a new workforce study published in Arthritis Care & Research.1 The lack of pediatric providers is a serious problem that…
Overview of studies on biologic use kicks off monthly literature review feature