Rheumatoid Arthritis News

Findings from a time-dependent analysis of comorbidities in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and healthy controls suggest that inflammatory bowel disease and type I diabetes may predispose individuals to RA, according to recent data presented at the EULAR Annual Congress.

A novel device that stimulates the vagus nerve was associated with encouraging DAS28-CRP response in a small cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to findings presented at the EULAR Annual Congress.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a progressive and painful systemic inflammatory disease that preferentially attacks the synovium of the joints and is associated with an extensive array of comorbidities. It affects approximately 1% of adults in the United States and, if left unchecked, leads to joint destruction, debility, and deformity. Physicians need to be better educated about newer treatment options for RA, such as the use of biosimilars, as well as better informed about the immunopathogenesis, treatment guidelines, and comorbidities associated with RA. In this educational activity, expert physicians will review such topics in a web-based format.

Although a continuous 5-mg dose of glucocorticoids yielded stronger DAS28-ESR outcomes among patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving tocilizumab, approximately two-thirds of patients were able to taper off glucocorticoids while maintaining low disease activity, according to data presented at the EULAR Annual Congress.

Patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis who switch from etanercept to the biosimilar etanercept-szzs experienced no impacts on drug efficacy, safety or immunogenicity, according to data published in Arthritis Research & Therapy.

Amgen is currently embroiled in two pivotal court cases surrounding patents for its bestselling etanercept product that could protect it from competition in the United States for another decade.

Rheumatologists and patients share several reported barriers to achieving disease control in rheumatoid arthritis, including a perceived medication risk aversion, suboptimal treatment adherence and a lack of effective communication regarding the benefits of RA disease control, according to recent findings in Arthritis Care & Research.

Although rheumatologists overwhelmingly agree on the use of conventional synthetic DMARDs and biologic drugs for inflammatory arthritis in patients with planned pregnancies, there appears to be little consensus on when to suspend drugs and how to handle unplanned pregnancies, according to survey data in BMC Rheumatology.

DESTIN, Fla. — Although patients with rheumatoid arthritis generally report satisfaction with their treatment, many remain “absolutely unsatisfied” with their disease state, according to Chinonso Akano, PharmD, of Eli Lilly.

Costs for the 49 top-selling brand-name prescription drugs in the United States increased by a median 76% between 2012 and 2017, with all but one drug displaying regular annual or biannual price increases, according to an analysis of pharmacy claims data published in JAMA Network Open.