News & Updates

Nearly half of all rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients suffer comorbidity, which has a negative impact on quality of life and mortality. At a recent scientific symposium, Professor Peter Taylor from the University of Oxford in Oxford, UK emphasized the importance of monitoring, preventing, and treating comorbidities in RA while Professor Christopher Edwards from the University Hospital Southampton in Southampton, UK focused on the impact of mental health in RA. The symposium was organized by Fresenius Kabi and held under the auspices of the Singapore Society of Rheumatology. Dr Lian Tsui Yee from Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore chaired the event.

In individuals receiving disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs* (DMARDs) for inflammatory rheumatic diseases** (IRD), humoral response remained satisfactory following administration of the second dose of the Pfizer mRNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, a study suggests.

Interleukin-17 inhibition with the biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) secukinumab appears to produce a substantial reduction in synovitis in psoriatic arthritis, in addition to improvements in the signs and symptoms of the disease, according to the results of the phase III ULTIMATE.

The most effective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for pain and function in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) are etoricoxib 60 mg/day and diclofenac 150 mg/day, suggests a study. However, these medications may not be suitable for those with comorbidities or for long-term use due to the slight increase in the risk of adverse events.

Use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) does not contribute to the development of heart failure (HF) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a study has shown.

Methotrexate (MTX) plus leflunomide (LEF) demonstrates a relatively good safety profile overall compared with the combination of MTX and sulfasalazine (SSZ) and strategies involving advanced therapies in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), reports a study.

A recent study has shown modest drug survival and primary response of a second biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (bDMARD) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) switching due to failure of a nontumour necrosis factor inhibitor (non-TNFi) bDMARD as the first agent.

Current smoking reduces the response of patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to methotrexate (MTX) in a dose-responsive manner, regardless of concomitant prednisone use, a recent study has found.

The osteoporosis drug alendronate halves the risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) in a nationwide, retrospective, case-control study of nearly 700,000 patients from Denmark.