Your patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) isn’t responding well enough to methotrexate, and you both agree it’s time to consider a biologic or targeted synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD). But which one should you choose? In a treat-to-target era, we’re fortunate to have a variety of RA therapies at our disposal. Clinical practice guidelines from…
In recent months, many rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals have noted issues related to obtaining supplies of injectable and oral methotrexate for their patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). A conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (csDMARD), methotrexate is available as both oral tablets and as a subcutaneous injection for the treatment of RA and other autoimmune diseases.1…
Past studies have suggested that patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who consume a moderate amount of alcohol may experience lower disease activity and higher quality of life than non-drinkers. In this study, Alfredsson, et al. confirmed earlier studies’ claims that alcohol consumption reduces disease activity in a dose-dependent manner, and also indicated that patients who stopped drinking post-baseline experienced worsened disease activity, more pain and a lower quality of life.
Ho et al. found that upadacitinib may impede the progression of bone erosion in patients with RA. Additionally, bone scans of patients with limited exposure to conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs showed bone erosion regression, which may result from upadacitinib’s inhibition of Janus kinase 1.
Stimulating human programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), a checkpoint inhibitory receptor, with peresolimab may be a viable way to treat autoimmune diseases, according to a study by Tuttle et al. In the study, patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who were treated with peresolimab experienced greater improvements in disease activity than those who received placebo.
Research from Choi et al. provides insights into the risk of infection in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), comparing patients treated with Janus kinase inhibitors vs. tumor necrosis inhibitors. The most frequent infection was herpes zoster, with patients treated with JAK inhibitors having a significantly greater risk of herpes zoster infection than those treated with TNF inhibitors.
Background & Objectives Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease associated with immune responses to the patient’s own antigens and characterized by inflammation and substantial joint destruction. Prevotella copri, a gut commensal bacterium, has been reported to be an immune-relevant organism in individuals with RA. This study sought to evaluate antibody responses to anti-P….
In a small study, an anti-inflammatory diet helped reduce pain and swelling in a subset of people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Diet changes are complementary to standard treatment. Diet-related research can be challenging, but many patients with RA are motivated to try healthy changes.
Research by Chicre et al. found that Janus kinase inhibitors may significantly increase the risk of major adverse cardiac events and all-cause death in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) when compared with other RA treatments. This study highlights the need for more comparative safety studies.
Data from a small study show that severe methotrexate toxicity in patients who are 70 years of age and older and have rheumatic disease may be associated with poor renal function and the use of diuretic treatments.