Rheumatoid Arthritis News

Serum folate levels between 4.3 ng/mL and 8.2 ng/mL and greater were associated with a lower cardiovascular mortality risk among patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to data published in JAMA Network Open.

Joint replacement neither eliminates nor prevents ultrasound-detected synovitis among patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to data published in BMC Rheumatology.

MAUI, Hawaii — Findings from the SELECT-COMPARE trial demonstrated that patients with rheumatoid arthritis may safely switch between a TNF inhibitor and a JAK inhibitor, or vice versa, in the case of non-response, according to presenters at the 2020 Rheumatology Winter Clinical Symposium.

The American College of Rheumatology has issued a strong recommendation that women with rheumatic disease who do not have lupus or antiphospholipid syndrome use effective contraceptives, along with 130 other recommendations in its first clinical practice guideline for reproductive health.

Patient-reported flares among individuals with rheumatoid arthritis are linked to inflammation detected through serial MRI and ultrasound, according to findings published in Arthritis Research & Therapy.

MAUI, Hawaii — Although traditionally marked by scant changes in treatment and diagnosis from its prehistoric roots, the field of rheumatology experienced a windfall of “disruptive innovation” following World War II — an unlikely catalyst that also revolutionized surfing technology, according to a unique “Hawaiian TED Talk” presented at the 2020 Rheumatology Winter Clinical Symposium.

Low-dose methotrexate — the most commonly used drug for systemic rheumatic diseases — was associated with small to moderate increased risks for skin cancer along with gastrointestinal, infectious, pulmonary and hematologic adverse events, according to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Although patients with rheumatoid arthritis expressed doubt that patient-reported outcome measures, or PROMs, could adequately express how the disease impacts their lives, such survey instruments are more effective than verbal accounts at conveying overall symptom severity, according to findings published in Arthritis Care & Research.

Conversions of measurements from the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness TherapyFatigue to the PatientReported Outcomes Measurement Information System Fatigue, or PROMIS Fatigue, is both feasible and applicable in clinical trials for RA, according to findings published in Arthritis Care & Research.

Among patients with rheumatoid arthritis, men and those with no prior history of receiving biologic DMARDs are more likely to remain on abatacept with a major clinical response, according to data published in Arthritis Research & Therapy.