Rheumatoid Arthritis News

AMSTERDAM — Obesity in women and smoking in men are the strongest predictors that a patient with rheumatoid arthritis, receiving guideline-based care, will fail to achieve remission in the first 12 months, according to findings presented at the EULAR Annual Congress.

It is no secret that, in terms of general health, it’s better to eat a salad than a burger and fries. It’s no secret that going for a walk is better than sitting on the couch watching television. It’s no secret that practicing yoga or meditation can provide some peace in a busy, cluttered life. And it’s no secret that improving these wellness-related lifestyle habits can pay dividends for patients with rheumatic or autoimmune diseases. Despite these well-known facts, both rheumatologists and patients consistently report poor dietary habits, alarming rates of tobacco and alcohol use, and insufficient exercise among individuals with these conditions. Many experts believe it’s past time to discuss why.

What is wellness? Wellness encompasses diverse dimensions of physical, mental and social well-being — mind body and spirit — that extend beyond disease and its activity and severity. Wellness behavior includes personal choices aimed at achieving physical vitality, mental alacrity, social satisfaction and personal fulfillment. Put simply, wellness occurs when “lives go well.”

A 60-year-old white woman presented with severe seropositive rheumatoid arthritis. She is taking methotrexate 12.5 mg per week, prednisone 17.5 mg per day, and she is on her second course of rituximab (last infusion 6 months ago).

AMSTERDAM — Infiltration of synovial T cells in the absence of overt synovitis may help identify patients at risk for developing rheumatoid arthritis, according to findings presented at the EULAR Annual Congress.

AMSTERDAM — The use of TNF inhibitors may reduce the need for total hip replacement among older and more severe rheumatoid arthritis patients; however, no link was observed among younger or less severe patients, according to findings presented at the EULAR Annual Congress.

Treatment with antirheumatic medications — such as NSAIDs and anticytokine monoclonal antibodies — may benefit patients with schizophrenia, according to data published in Psychiatric Annals.

AMSTERDAM — Despite an increasing prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis, the rate of arthroplasty surgery declined by 51.9% among this patient population over a 13-year period, according to findings presented at the EULAR Annual Congress.

Despite often being grouped together in practice, adults with polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis and those with rheumatoid arthritis are distinct, with markedly different medication needs, according to findings published in the Journal of Clinical Rheumatology.

Children born to mothers treated with TNF inhibitors for rheumatoid arthritis did not demonstrate an increased risk for infection, compared with both unexposed offspring and the general population, according to findings published in Arthritis & Rheumatology.