Rheumatology News

• Medicare Opts to Cover Acupuncture for Pain Amid Opioid Crisis CMS reverses its past stance on acupuncture and outlines terms for Medicare coverage of the treatment for low back pain.
  Medscape Medical News, January 29, 2020
• In Rheumatology, Biosimilars Are Flatlining. Why? The United States hasn't yet been able to reap the cost savings seen in Europe -- for a host of reasons.
  Medscape Medical News, January 29, 2020
• Increased Risk of Inflammatory Arthritis With Hidradenitis Suppurativa Patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) face an increased risk of developing inflammatory arthritis, according to findings from a claims database.
  Reuters Health Information, January 27, 2020
• AbbVie-Allergan $63 Bln Deal Aided by Nestle, AstraZeneca Buys U.S. drugmaker AbbVie's $63 billion tie-up with Allergan is getting help from Nestle and AstraZeneca buying up products the Irish-domiciled company is shedding to placate regulators.
  Reuters Health Information, January 27, 2020
• JAK Inhibitors Tied to Increased Risk of Herpes Zoster in IBD, Other Immune-Mediated Diseases Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or other immune-mediated conditions may be at increased risk of herpes zoster infection if treated with Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors, a systematic review and meta-analysis suggests.
  Reuters Health Information, January 24, 2020
• Cannabis for Sleep: Short-Term Benefit, Long-Term Disruption? Patients suffering from chronic pain who take medicinal cannabis to initiate and maintain sleep experience short-term benefit, but long-term use may ultimately disrupt slumber.
  Medscape Medical News, January 24, 2020
• SGLT2 Inhibitors Risky in Latent Autoimmune Diabetes Sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors can cause ketoacidosis in patients with latent autoimmune diabetes (LADA), a report on three cases in the American Journal of Medicine confirms.
  Reuters Health Information, January 16, 2020
• Ideal Clinical Pathway Improves Pregnancy Outcomes in RA Women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who adhere to an ideal clinical pathway have similar pregnancy outcomes as women in the general population, new findings show.
  Reuters Health Information, January 17, 2020
• Fluoroquinolones, Cancer Drugs on New FDA Watch List Eight fluoroquinolones made the list, with potential signs of risk for mitral and aortic regurgitation.
  Medscape Medical News, January 21, 2020
• FDA Panel Split on Approval of Non-Opioid for Surgical Pain A US Food and Drug Administration advisory panel was split on recommending approval of bupivacaine to control post-surgical pain.
  Medscape Medical News, January 17, 2020
• Doc Guilty in 'Heinous' Fraud Case Involving False Diagnoses Jorge Zamora-Quezada, MD, falsely diagnosed patients has having rheumatoid arthritis, treated them with toxic drugs, and falsified medical records to mislead a federal investigation.
  Medscape Medical News, January 16, 2020
• Doctor Lets Patients 'Pay' for Surgeries With Volunteer Service Surgeon donates his time and asks only that patients and a team of people the patient recruits do hundreds of hours of service with two partner charities.
  Medscape Medical News, January 16, 2020
• Opioid Dropped After Thumbs Down From FDA Advisory Panel Following a unanimous vote by an FDA advisory panel against recommending approval of a new opioid, the company has withdrawn its NDA and announced it will make no further investment in the drug's development.
  Medscape Medical News, January 15, 2020
• Knee Replacement Timing Out of Step for Most Candidates Few patients with knee osteoarthritis receive the elective surgery within 2 years, a study found; delays were more common among African Americans.
  Medscape Medical News, January 15, 2020
• Are Your Patients Taking CBD? There is not much science-based information physicians can offer patients about cannabidiol (CBD), but many may be interested in trying it.
  Medscape Reader Polls, January 15, 2020
• Denosumab Tied to Infection Risk The osteoporosis drug denosumab is associated with a higher incidence of serious infections compared to placebo, but the risk is similar to comparator drugs, a systematic review and meta-analysis reveals.
  Reuters Health Information, January 13, 2020
• AAAP 2019Buprenorphine Safer for OUD, Chronic Pain in the Elderly? For older individuals with opioid use disorder resulting from treatment of chronic pain, buprenorphine may be a safer pain management alternative, new research suggests.
  Medscape Medical News, January 14, 2020
• Serum Biomarker Panels for Lupus May Aid Diagnosis New serum biomarker panels show promise for diagnosing systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and for the differential diagnosis of other major rheumatic immune diseases, report researchers from China.
  Reuters Health Information, January 10, 2020
• Diabetes Drug Class May Hold Promise for Gout Prevention Adults with type 2 diabetes prescribed an SGLT2 inhibitor were less likely to develop gout than those prescribed a GLP-1 receptor agonist.
  Medscape Medical News, January 13, 2020
• Experts Seek Simpler Endpoints for Lupus Trials Two visual analogue scales are reliable surrogates for common SLE trial endpoints, a study found, but expert says the study did not consider the already validated Hopkins UCSF Lupus Activity Index.
  Medscape Medical News, January 13, 2020