Rheumatoid Arthritis News

Treatment with hydroxychloroquine was not associated with heart failure in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in a recent study; however, more research is needed regarding higher doses, according to a presenter at the EULAR 2020 E-Congress.

The average patient who received hydroxychloroquine for a rheumatic disease was unlikely to achieve the total serum or plasma concentration necessary to inhibit the coronavirus in vitro, particularly at dosages of less than 400 mg per day, according to data published in The Journal of Rheumatology.

Older adults with certain chronic conditions were significantly more likely to have severe tooth loss compared with adults who did not suffer from chronic conditions, according to an analysis published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Losing weight from young adulthood into midlife is associated with a substantially reduced risk for arthritis, according to data published in Arthritis Care & Research.

The COVID-19 pandemic, in places like Detroit, with a large working-class population, can highlight the gap between the rich and the poor. It can demonstrate how political unrest can impact the response to a critical situation. Moreover, it can show how health care workers can face both personal and professional challenges in managing an outbreak of this magnitude.

An overlapping case of Sjögren’s syndrome can lower the likelihood of achieving remission or low disease activity among patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to data published in Arthritis Research & Therapy.

Combination therapy with TNF inhibitors plus methotrexate was significantly superior to triple therapy with methotrexate, hydroxychloroquine and sulfasalazine in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, both in terms of persistence and improved disease activity, according to data published in Arthritis Care & Research.

The rise and fall of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as “game-changing” treatments for COVID-19 should come as no surprise to experts who have paid attention to the history of these drugs, according to findings published in The FASEB Journal.

Dose reduction of biological DMARDs in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who have achieved low disease activity is a feasible goal in daily practice, according to data published in Arthritis Research & Therapy.

Visiting a rheumatologist within 6 weeks of symptom onset can benefit a patient with rheumatoid arthritis in achieving sustained, DMARD-free remission, but in slowing radiographic progression, according to data published in The Lancet Rheumatology.