“Whether or not” and “how” to taper off the last bit of medication for patients with clinically stable ANCA-associated vasculitis are hotly debated topics in the vasculitis field.
Incidence of Lyme Disease Diagnosis in a Maryland Medicaid Population
This study evaluates overall incidence rates and demographic, seasonal, and geographic trends of first Lyme disease diagnosis among 384,652 Maryland Medicaid members enrolled from July 2004-June 2011 and represents the first analysis of claims data from publicly insured individuals.
Cognitive Decline in Post-treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome
Patients with Post-treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS) commonly complain of cognitive symptoms. The study found, in subsets of PTLDS patients, objective evidence of cognitive decline in verbal memory and processing speed, cognitive impairment, and sub-optimal engagement with testing.
Obstacles to Diagnosis and Treatment of Lyme Disease in the USA
To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore factors which may contribute to a delay in diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease. We identified distinct, potentially modifiable risk factors between onset of first Lyme disease symptoms and treatment. Targeting these drivers may reduce time to diagnosis and treatment and reduce the occurrence of late-stage Lyme disease complications.
Cancer immunotherapy regimens and clinical features of inflammatory arthritis
This is a study of 30 patients with immune checkpoint inhibitor induced inflammatory arthritis. Their clinical features and relationship to immunotherapy regimen were evaluated, as was the course of their arthritis.
Poor Sleep Quality Shown for Lyme Disease Patients
This is the first study to examine and quantify sleep quality in the context of well-defined early Lyme disease (LD) and post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS). The findings provide support that sleep disturbance should be considered in the clinical picture of individuals with LD. Sleep quality may particularly be poor and associated with the pain experience for individuals with PTLDS. Future research will need to validate and expand upon these findings to investigate sleep quality in individuals exposed to LD who are not well-defined and/or ideally treated.
Smoking is Not to Blame for PAD4 Antibody Development in Patients with RA
A new study from the Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center reveals that cigarette smoking is not linked to the development of antibodies to PAD4 in patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis.
GRASPing the Factors associated with Severe Scleroderma in African Americans
We report results from analysis of clinical, laboratory and socio-demographic data provided by the GRASP cohort, which has enhanced our knowledge about factors associated with significant manifestations of scleroderma in African Americans.
Secret Messages : Decoding with Filters
For too long, doctors treating rheumatic diseases have had to base their management on instinct and experience.
The problem is that each physician has a limited experience – which means that many times we basically had to guess at how to treat a specific patient, using trial and error to find out what might work best.
