Rheumatoid Arthritis News

RA patients are at an increased risk for cardiovascular events and death from cardiovascular disease. In the general population, and in RA patients (Jane, link to ACR2005 abstract 1901), carotid atherosclerosis (defined by identification of a thickened intima-medial or plaque using ultrasound) is highly predictive of cardiovascular events. Despite this, previous studies have not identified a clear-cut increased risk for carotid plaque in individuals with RA compared to non-RA controls.

A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the PTPN22 gene has recently been shown to associate with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with a strength of association second only to that of the HLA region encoding the MHC class II shared epitope (SE). To date, the mechanism by which the altered PTPN22 gene contributes to the pathogenesis of RA has largely been unstudied.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has now approved abatacept (Orencia®) for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It is the first approved agent to demonstrate efficacy and safety in patients with an inadequate response to TNF antagonists, as well as those with an inadequate response to MTX.

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Active polyarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) can result in significant joint destruction, deformity, and lifelong loss of physical function. NSAIDs, generally effective in controlling the symptoms of the pauciarticular form of JRA, are often not adequately effective in polyarticular JRA. Although many JRA patients are treated with the same DMARDs used to treat adult-onset RA (i.e. methotrexate, sulfasalazine, etc), few controlled clinical trials of DMARDs have been conducted in JRA patients.

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