Dmard

The American College of Rheumatology has released its updated treatment guidelines for rheumatoid arthritis, with a strong emphasis on the use of methotrexate before adding or switching to DMARDs, according to the lead author.

Tapering conventional synthetic DMARDs to a half-dose was inferior to stable-dose regimens for preventing flares during a 1-year period among patients in rheumatoid arthritis remission, according to data published in JAMA.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis in the United States made “substantial” medication changes in the first 3 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, with and without physician guidance, according to data published in Arthritis Care & Research.

Sprifermin improved cartilage thickness and pain symptoms in a subgroup of patients with knee osteoarthritis who demonstrated low minimum joint-space width and moderate-to-high pain at baseline, according to data.

A daily 30 mg dose of upadacitinib — but not the 15 mg dose — is superior to adalimumab at improving the signs and symptoms of psoriatic arthritis among patients with inadequate response to non-biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis who start biological therapy after failing methotrexate are about two times more likely to be adherent and achieve sustained remission at 1 and 2 years than with triple therapy, according to data.

Rheumatoid arthritis is independently linked to worse prognosis following myocardial infarction, with disease duration and corticosteroid use predicting mortality after myocardial infarction, according to data published in Rheumatology.

Studies examining the immunopathogenesis of COVID-19 and its link to immune system dysregulation are providing an “unparalleled opportunity” to learn more about autoimmunity, according to a review published in Pathogens and Immunity.

Upadacitinib is equivalent or superior to adalimumab in improving patient-reported outcomes among those with rheumatoid arthritis and an inadequate response to methotrexate, according to data published in Rheumatology.

Moderate and high disease activity, as well as the use of immunosuppressants, were associated with a higher risk for COVID-related death in patients with rheumatic diseases, according to data in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.