Spondyloarthropathies News

Most scientists, by nature and by training, are in one business: Observe a knowledge gap, and fill it. With that in mind, in 2001, the founders of the Consortium of Rheumatology Researchers of North America (Corrona) LLC recognized that there was no database — independent of big pharma — that collected clinical data from both rheumatologists and patients on the safety and efficacy of emerging drug therapies.

Among patients with recent-onset axial spondyloarthritis, 36% reported developing peripheral arthritis at any time during their disease duration, with these patients demonstrating a greater disease burden than those without peripheral arthritis, according to recent findings in Arthritis Research & Therapy.

Opioid use is highly prevalent among patients with ankylosing spondylitis, ranging from 23.5% in patients with commercial insurance using the ICD code of 720.0, to 76% in patients with Medicaid using the ICD 720.x code, according to data published in the Journal of Rheumatology.

Only 46% of patients with ankylosing spondylitis remain on their first TNF inhibitor after 5 years, with one-third ending up with no anti-rheumatic treatment after this time, according to data published in Arthritis Research & Therapy.

Bimekizumab was associated with improved pain and functionality outcomes compared with placebo in a cohort of patients with ankylosing spondylitis, according to findings presented at the EULAR Annual Congress.

Political activism is more accessible than ever thanks to the amplification offered by social media, and rheumatologists can use social media — particularly Twitter — to advocate for the profession and their patients, according to Angus Worthing, MD, private practice rheumatologist and chair of the Government Affairs Committee for the American College of Rheumatology.

Patients with ankylosing spondylitis commonly demonstrate impaired spinal mobility after 10 years of disease duration, at which time a weakened lateral spinal flexion becomes associated with a worse prognosis, according to recent findings in Arthritis Care & Research.

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.

Dan Reynolds, lead singer for the Grammy Award-winning band Imagine Dragons, never wanted to talk about his diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis.

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.