Congress of Clinical Rheumatology West

Continued reductions in serum acute phase proteins and collagen degradation proteins observed in patients with psoriatic arthritis receiving guselkumab may be linked to sustained symptom improvements.

Investigators believe a more consistent application of disease activity measures may help to guide treatment decisions and improve quality of care.

Significantly more patients receiving voclosporin had a good renal outcome, defined as achieving adequate response with no renal flare, compared with controls.

A lower proportion of patients in the belimumab treatment group experienced ≥1 kidney flare compared with placebo in the overall population.

Stephen Ziegler, PhD, JD, discusses the challenges cannabis treatment presents as a form of complementary therapy for rheumatic disease.

Stephen Ziegler, PhD, JD, describes the various alternative and complementary treatments available for palliative care and pain management in patients with rheumatic disease.

Stephen Ziegler, PhD, JD, explains pain management and prescribing opioid medications in the wake of Ruan v United States.

Elizabeth Volkmann, MD, MS, explains the current treatment options available for SSc-ILD and how to evaluate and manage this patient population.

Elizabeth Volkmann, MD, MS, discusses systemic sclerosis associated interstitial lung disease and how to evaluate subclinical, clinical, and progressive disease for the best outcome.

Patients with IBD-RA and depression were younger, more likely to be female, and were more frequently White compared with controls.

A higher number of patients receiving guselkumab treatment reported ≥1 improvement as early as week 4, which continued to improve through week 24.

Jeffrey Sparks, MD, MMSc, discusses what rheumatologists need to know about treating challenging cases of rheumatoid arthritis as well as the risks and benefits of more aggressive treatment strategies.

Jeffrey Sparks, MD, MMSc, explains how to tailor rheumatoid arthritis treatment for an individual patient’s needs and when to consider switching or intensifying treatment.

Yvonne C. Lee, MD, MMSc, explains the pain mechanisms in rheumatic disease and the promising advancements in pain research.

Susan Goodman, MD, discusses pre and perioperative management of rheumatic disease.

A study presented at CCR West found that tocilizumab displayed better biologic persistence compared with other biologics in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who previously received 1 or more other biologics.

A post hoc analysis of the OPAL Beyond and OPAL Broaden studies found tofacitinib improved skin-related symptoms and health-related quality of life in psoriatic arthritis patients with an inadequate response to csDMARDs or TNFi treatment.

A post hoc analysis presented at CCR West found sarilumab outperformed adalimumab and placebo in HbA1c improvement in rheumatoid arthritis patients with diabetes.

A study examining a gene expression classifier from Scipher Medicine called PrismRA found the system could be used to identify at least half of the non-responders with at least 90% accuracy.

A 12-week phase 2 study comparing filgotinib to placebo found the oral, selective JAK1-inhibitor could be an effective treatment for ankylosing spondylitis.

Theresa Lawrence Ford, MD, CEO and medical director of North Georgia Rheumatology Group and board member of the Association of Women in Rheumatology, gives her opinion on the current state of burnout among rheumatologists.

Gail Rodich, MD, discusses what the approval of rituximab, which has approvals for 9 other conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, means for pediatric patients with GPA and MPA.

A new study from CCR West compared the JAK inhibitor therapy to competitors across a clinical trial program involving 5 pivotal phase 3 studies.

Maria Greenwald, MD, rheumatologist, discusses what she sees as a glaring issue in medicine—the lack of knowledge among many physicians as to how much treatments will cost and how to mitigate the impact of those costs.

A study from CCR West 2019 has found that tofacitinib can cut the time to clinically significant pain improvement in psoriatic arthritis patients by nearly half the time when compared to placebo therapy.

Maria Greenwald, MD, rheumatologist with Desert Medical Advances, discusses the results of a study she conducted that sought to identify the most effective ways a physician can advise a patient on how to save money on treatments.

Investigators at CCR West find that kidney transplant patients commonly suffer from gout, even before the transplant.

While conferences and annual meetings are often the place clinicians are exposed to new data, there are often niche areas where they seek further guidance or information. Janet Pope, MD, discusses where she would like to see more research dedicated.

Discussing the importance of implementing a multidisciplinary team when treating conditions that put patients at a predisposition for comorbidities with Rania Al Asmar, MBBS, of Marshall University.

Janet Pope, MD, professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, discusses whether she believes clinicians will ever transition away from DMARDs and biologics due to the high cost and what the alternatives are for those patients.