Author Interviews, Pain Research, Rheumatology / 12.09.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51257" align="alignleft" width="154"]Dr. Ben Nowell PhD Director of Patient-Centered Research Global Healthy Living Foundation Co-Principal Investigator of CreakyJoints ArthritisPower  Dr. Ben Nowell[/caption] W. Benjamin Nowell, Ph.D. Director of Patient-Centered Research CreakyJoints, Principal Investigator of ArthritisPower MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Over the past fifteen years, the treatment options for people diagnosed and living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have grown. There are now many medications (particularly biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, or bDMARDs) proven to improve disease symptoms and immune system over activity, thereby reducing inflammation and joint damage. The American College of Rheumatology recommends a treat-to-target approach, which has the patient and rheumatologist setting goals for treatment effectiveness and making adjustments over time to meet those goals. This study aimed to determine if rheumatoid arthritis patients are satisfied with their treatment. The goal of this study was to identify the following: patients’ satisfaction with current RA treatment, the current unmet needs perceived by patients with rheumatoid arthritis in the United States, the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis that are most bothersome to patients, and the impact of symptoms on function and quality of life that may lead patients to need alternative treatments. 
Author Interviews, Bristol Myers Squibb, Rheumatology / 26.06.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_49997" align="alignleft" width="200"]Sean Connolly, Ph.D. Director of Non-Registrational Data Generation Study Director for ASCORE Bristol-Myers Squibb Dr. Connolly[/caption] Sean Connolly, Ph.D. Director of Non-Registrational Data Generation Study Director for ASCORE Bristol-Myers Squibb MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: ASCORE is a two-year, prospective multicenter study to observe retention and response rates of moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients receiving ORENCIA® (abatacept), administered subcutaneously via a pre-filled syringe, in routine clinical practice. Findings shared at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR 2019) are the results from the first 12 months. An important objective of our development program is to understand how well we can replicate findings from our clinical trials among a real-world patient population. In the case of ASCORE, which looked at approximately 3,000 patients, both bio-naïve and patients receiving later-line therapies, these data add to the body of research that may help inform physicians treating patients with RA. Patients participating in ASCORE were divided into two distinct cohorts at the outset of the study: bio-naïve and patients previously administered one or more biologic agents. The primary endpoint is to estimate the rentention rate of patients in each cohort over a 24-month period. Furthermore, ASCORE examines the patient populations across ten countries to understand factors including: how ORENCIA is prescribed, characteristics of patients from each country (socio-demographic data, medical history, co-morbidities, etc.), and population health statistics within each country. This sub-analysis is factored into patient response to treatment across both cohorts, which may help physicians better understand how and why certain populations demonstrate a specific retention rate.
Author Interviews, JAMA, MRI, Rheumatology / 07.02.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_47400" align="alignleft" width="133"]Signe Møller-Bisgaard MD, PhD Rigshospitalet Center for Rheumatology and Spine Diseases Copenhagen Center for Arthritis Research  Dr. Møller-Bisgaard[/caption] Signe Møller-Bisgaard MD, PhD Rigshospitalet Center for Rheumatology and Spine Diseases Copenhagen Center for Arthritis Research  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?  Response: The background was that to avoid long-term consequences of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) such as progressive joint damage progression leading to functional impairment and loss of quality of life, it is essential for patients with RA to achieve clinical remission, which is a disease state with no clinical signs and symptoms of disease activity. But despite treating our patients according to current clinical recommendations using targeted treatment strategies, so that the patients reach a state of remission, joint damage progression still occurs in one out of four patients. We knew, that MRI inflammatory findings such as synovitis and bone marrow edema are present in patients in clinical remission and are of prognostic value. In particular bone marrow edema has shown to be a strong predictor of erosive joint damage progression. In the IMAGINE-RA randomized clinical trial we therefore wanted to investigate if an MRI treat-to-target strategy targeting absence of bone marrow edema versus a conventional disease activity-guided treat-to-target strategy would improve clinical and radiographic outcome in rheumatoid arthritis patients in clinical remission. 
Author Interviews, Occupational Health, Rheumatology / 01.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_45610" align="alignleft" width="154"]Dr. W. Benjamin Nowell, Ph.D. Director of Patient-Centered Research CreakyJoints, study co-author Co-principal investigator of ArthritisPower Dr. Nowell[/caption] Dr. W. Benjamin Nowell, Ph.D. Director of Patient-Centered Research CreakyJoints, study co-author Co-principal investigator of ArthritisPower MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) can diminish patients’ work productivity and increase the risk of long-term disability, economic insecurity and worsening health, but limited research informs these issues. The purpose of our study was to examine associations between patients’ RA disease activity and their productivity and workplace support, using real-world data from the ArthritisPower research registry. Our study looked at a sample of participants with RA who had a history of or current treatment with non-biologic and/or biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) (n=296). Among the study sample, 74 percent had high disease activity (HDA) as determined by RAPID3 (>12), a common measure of disease activity in RA.
  • High disease activity was associated with lower education (p<0.001) and higher likelihood of disability (9%, p<0.001) compared to those without high disease activity.
    • Patients with HDA missed more days of work than non-HDA patients (mean: 6.1 vs 3.8 days, respectively; p=0.03), but non-HDA participants reported more days off due to medical appointments (2.6 vs 1.2 days, respectively) while HDA patients missed more days due to RA treatment side effects (mean: 0.5 vs 0.1 days, respectively).
  • Based on scores from the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (WPAI) questionnaire, RA seems to affect work productivity to a greater extent in participants with HDA than without (WPAI scores 5.3 and 3.3, respectively; p<0.001). Participants who were not currently employed reported having more physically demanding tasks (e.g. heavy load lifting) and less workplace flexibility (e.g. working from home) in their most recent paid position than currently employed participants.
  • However, in a multivariate regression analysis, we found that participants who could request changes in work start and stop times on a daily basis were 2.9 (95% CI: 1.53, 5.46) times more likely to be unemployed (adjusting for age, disease activity, and satisfaction with social participation) than those unable to make this request (p<0.0001).
About ArthritisPower: Created by CreakyJoints and supported by a multiyear, multimillion dollar investment by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), ArthritisPower is the first-ever patient-centered research registry for joint, bone, and inflammatory skin conditions. The free ArthritisPower mobile and desktop application allows patients to track and share their symptoms and treatments while also participating in voluntary research studies in a secure and accessible manner. ArthritisPower Patient Governors serve as gatekeepers for researchers who seek access to registry data or solicit the community to participate in unique, voluntary studies. To learn more and join ArthritisPower, visit www.ArthritisPower.org. 
Author Interviews, Bristol Myers Squibb, Rheumatology, Smoking / 24.10.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_45370" align="alignleft" width="90"]Pr Gilles Boire, M.D., M. ScService de rhumatologie Département de médecine Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé Université de Sherbrooke Prof. Boire[/caption] Pr Gilles Boire, M.D., M. ScService de rhumatologie Département de médecine Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé Université de Sherbrooke MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients are heterogeneous at initial presentation, in response to treatments and according to their outcomes. No clinical features and very few biomarkers, except autoantibodies such as anti-Cyclic Citrullinated Peptides/Proteins (CCP), identify patients with divergent prognostic trajectories. To help improve early prognostic classification, we initiated 20 years ago the single center longitudinal observational Early Undifferentiated PolyArthritis (EUPA) study of consecutive patients presenting with recent-onset inflammatory polyarthritis, 90% of which fulfill classification criteria for RA at baseline. Our registry includes 739 very early RA patients (median symptom duration 3.6 months), rapidly treated to joint remission (i.e. 0/66 swollen joint) and followed over 5 years. Each patient visit is linked to biosamples and to sequential radiographs scored according to the modified Sharp/van der Heijde method. As we had the clinical impression that clinical features of recruited patients were evolving, we compared patients from 3 periods (1998-2004; 2005-2010; 2011-2017). 
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Rheumatology / 16.06.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_42495" align="alignleft" width="200"]Dr. Lisa van Baarsen PhD Principal Investigator at the Amsterdam Rheumatology and Immunology Cente Academic Medical Center the Netherlands. Dr. van Baarsen[/caption] Dr. Lisa van Baarsen PhD Principal Investigator at the Amsterdam Rheumatology and Immunology Cente Academic Medical Center the Netherlands  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The discovery that autoantibodies can be present years before the onset of clinical symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) enables us to study autoantibody positive individuals who are at risk of developing RA. In patients with established disease the target tissue of RA, the synovial joints, is characterized by cellular infiltration and inflammation. Moreover, successful therapy decreases this synovial inflammation. In the past, our department already showed (PMID: 21177292; PMID: 24574210) that in autoantibody positive at risk individuals there is no overt cellular infiltration present in the synovium. In the current study we performed a so called discovery-based approach to investigate at a genome-wide gene expression level (using microarrays) whether the synovium is altered at a molecular level before onset of rheumatoid arthritis. Our molecular and microscopic studies on synovial biopsies obtained from autoantibody positive individuals indeed revealed interesting differences between those at risk individuals who developed disease after follow up and those who did not.
Author Interviews, Rheumatology / 16.06.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Maarten Boers, MSc, MD, PhD Professor of Clinical Epidemiology Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics VU University Medical Center--F wing MedFac Amsterdam, Netherlands MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Mortality in rheumatoid arthritis is increased. Recent (short-term) studies suggest the situation is improving, but in studies with long (>10-year) follow up the increased mortality persists. We have been following a trial cohort of rheumatoid arthritis patients treated right from the beginning of disease (the COBRA trial) for 23 years and now, for the first time, show normal mortality compared to the general population.
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Rheumatology, Weight Research / 04.12.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_38696" align="alignleft" width="120"]Jeffrey A. Sparks, M.D., M.M.Sc. Assistant Professor of Medicine Division of Rheumatology, Immunology and Allergy Department of Medicine Brigham and Women’s Hospital Harvard Medical School Dr. Sparks[/caption] Jeffrey A. Sparks, M.D., M.M.Sc. Assistant Professor of Medicine Division of Rheumatology, Immunology and Allergy Department of Medicine Brigham and Women’s Hospital Harvard Medical School MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We compared women diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) during follow-up in the Nurses’ Health Study and matched women without RA during the same index time period. Women with RA had higher mortality than women without RA. In both groups, those that had severe weight loss (>30 pounds), had the highest mortality after the early RA/index period. Weight gain in the early RA period was not associated with mortality for either group.
Author Interviews, Lancet, Rheumatology, UT Southwestern / 20.06.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_35455" align="alignleft" width="150"]Roy Fleischmann, MD MACR Medical Director Metroplex Clinical Research Center Clinical Professor of Medicine University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dallas, TX 75231 Dr. Fleischmann[/caption] Roy Fleischmann, MD MACR Medical Director Metroplex Clinical Research Center Clinical Professor of Medicine University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dallas, TX 75231 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: In the phase 3 studies of tofacitinib, it was noted that the clinical responses to tofacitinib monotherapy were higher than the responses to tofaciotinib plus MTX and that tofacitinib plus methotrexate had numerically higher clinical responses compared to adalimumab plus methotrexate. This study was a non-inferiority design which compared tofacitinib monotherapy to tofacitinib + MTX and to adalimumab +MTX and tofacitinib monotherapy to tofacitinib +MTX in MTX incomplete responders. It was found that tofacitinib + MTX is non-inferior to adalimumab + MTX (and vice versa) and neither was superior to the other. The results of tofacitinib to either combination was non-conclusive showing neither non-inferiority or inferiority, but suggesting that either combination will be effective in more patients in a group of patients.
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Heart Disease, Rheumatology / 16.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof.dr. M.T. Nurmohamed, MD, PhD and Rabia Agca MD Dept. of Rheumatology | VU University Medical Center Amsterdam Rheumatology & immunology Center EULAR center of excellence in rheumatology MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: About 20 years ago the increased mortality in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was well known, but not the causes. In daily clinical practice it seemed that RA patients more frequently suffered from myocardial infarctions than general population persons. Therefore, we started this study more than 15 years ago as at that time there were only sparse data with respect to cardiovascular morbidity in rheumatoid arthritis.
Author Interviews, Rheumatology / 01.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29310" align="alignleft" width="124"]Marie Hudson, MD MPH FRCPC Jewish General Hospital and Lady David Research Institute Montreal, QC Dr. Marie Hudson[/caption] Marie Hudson, MD MPH FRCPC Jewish General Hospital and Lady David Research Institute Montreal, QC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Statins are widely used to treat hypercholesterolemia. In addition to their effect on cholesterol levels, statins also attenuate inflammation and have immunomodulatory properties. Whether this translates into meaningful differences in health outcomes, though, remains uncertain. We therefore undertook this study to determine whether people exposed to high doses of statins were at a lower risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis compared to those at lower doses. We studied a large population-based cohort of over half a million people exposed to statins for the first time and followed them on average for 3 years. We found that those exposed to the highest intensity statin quintile had a 33% lower risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis compared to those in the lowest intensity quintile (adjusted HR 0.77; 95% CI: 0.63-0.95). We conducted several additional secondary analyses that all pointed in the same direction and suggested that statins reduce the risk of rheumatoid arthritis.
Author Interviews, JAMA, Pharmacology, Rheumatology / 23.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jacques-Eric Gottenberg, MD, PhD Department of Rheumatology National Reference Center for Systemic Autoimmune Diseases Strasbourg University Hospital, Université de Strasbourg Strasbourg, FranceJacques-Eric Gottenberg, MD, PhD Department of Rheumatology National Reference Center for Systemic Autoimmune Diseases Strasbourg University Hospital, Université de Strasbourg Strasbourg, France MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: There is no recommendation for the choice of the second biologic in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and insufficient response to a first anti-TNF, which is a common situation in our daily practice (approximately one third of patients treated with anti-TNF). We therefore conducted the first randomized trial to date to investigate the best strategy in such a setting.
Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Microbiome, Rheumatology / 15.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_26144" align="alignleft" width="166"]Veena Taneja, Ph.D Immunologist Mayo Clinic Rochester MN Dr. Veena Taneja[/caption] Veena Taneja, Ph.D Immunologist Mayo Clinic Rochester MN MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Gut bacteria have been suggested to be involved in pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis. We used new technology to sequence the bacteria in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and first degree relatives and healthy individuals. We found that patients had lower diversity of bacteria than healthy individuals and the composition of the gut microbiota differed between patients and healthy people. We could identify some bacteria that have expanded in patients though those are generally observed with low numbers in healthy individuals. We could define certain metabolic signatures that associated with microbial profile. For the first time, we could show a direct link between the arthritis-associated bacteria we identified and enhancement of arthritis using a mice carrying the RA-susceptible HLA gene.
Author Interviews, Rheumatology, Supplements / 29.09.2015

Prof. Andrew B Lemmey School of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences Bangor University Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales, UKMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Andrew B Lemmey School of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences Bangor University Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales, UK Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Prof. Lemmey: Substantial loss of lean mass (LM; mostly skeletal muscle) is common in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as we and others have shown that even amongst patients with well-controlled disease approximately 67% are significantly muscle wasted. This loss of muscle, termed “rheumatoid cachexia”, is a major contributor to the decreased strength and impaired physical function which continues to characterise RA. Unfortunately, current drug treatments for RA, including use of biologics and the ‘treat-to-target (T2T)’ strategy, do not reverse this LM loss, nor fully restore physical function (Lemmey et al., “Tight control of disease activity fails to improve body composition or physical function in rheumatoid arthritis patients”. Submitted to Rheumatology (Oxford), currently under review). Whilst high-intensity exercise (specifically, progressive resistance training (PRT)) has been shown to be highly effective in restoring both  lean mass and function in  rheumatoid arthritis patients (Lemmey et al., Arthritis Care & Research 2009;61(12):1726-34), the lack of uptake and adherence to sufficiently intense training (Lemmey et al., Arthritis Care & Research 2012;64(1):71-5) means this form of therapy is not widely adopted. Anabolic nutritional supplementation offers a potential adjunct treatment intervention for increasing LM, and thereby improving physical function, that could be widely accepted. Indeed, our group (Marcora et al., Clinical Nutrition 2005;24(3):442-54) has previously demonstrated that 12 weeks of daily oral protein supplementation improved lean mass and some measures of strength and function in  rheumatoid arthritis patients. Creatine (Cr) is a popular dietary supplement generally shown to have greater benefits on both lean mass and physical function than generic protein supplementation. One study (Willer et al., Rheumatology 2000;39(3):293-8) has investigated the efficacy of Cr supplementation in rheumatoid arthritis patients. In this short uncontrolled trial, twelve patients underwent 3 weeks of supplementation, and although strength increased, no changes in function were found, and body composition changes were not investigated. Using a double-blind, placebo controlled design, the current study aimed to investigate the effects of 12 weeks of oral Cr supplementation on body composition (by DXA; dual energy X-ray absorptiometry), strength (knee-extensor and handgrip) and objectively-assessed physical function (chair and walk tests) in patients with RA. Thirty-five patients (Cr=15, Pl=20) completed the study. 
Author Interviews, NEJM, Rheumatology / 06.11.2014

Professor Paul Emery Arthritis Research UK Professor of Rheumatology Director - Leeds Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit, LTHT Director – Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine University of LeedsMedicalResearch.com Interview Professor Paul Emery Arthritis Research UK Professor of Rheumatology Director - Leeds Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit, LTHT Director – Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine University of Leeds Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Professor Emery: Joint damage and functional disability are common in people who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis (RA), even in those with early disease. We know that early aggressive treatment with biologics, such as the anti-TNF agent etanercept, results in rapid remission in many patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis, which can help reduce the risk of joint destruction and disability long term. However, we don’t yet know whether remission achieved with biologic therapy can be maintained after doses are reduced or therapy is withdrawn. The PRIZE trial, a “state-of-the-art” biologic treatment trial conducted in adults with early untreated rheumatoid arthritis, was designed to fill this knowledge gap. The trial included three phases:
  • 1) induction therapy with full-dose combination etanercept-methotrexate therapy;
  • 2) maintenance therapy with a reduced-dose etanercept-methotrexate regimen, methotrexate alone, or no treatment; and
  • 3) complete treatment withdrawal. After clinical remission was induced, remission was shown to be effectively maintained with the reduced-dose combination regimen but not with the biologic-free regimens.Significantly more patients who had received the reduced-dose regimen were in remission after therapy was withdrawn than patients who received no therapy after remission induction. Interestingly, however, after remission was induced with the full-dose combination regimen, no substantial progression of joint damage on x-ray was seen in patients receiving the reduced-dose regimen, methotrexate only, or no treatment.
Author Interviews, CHEST, Infections, Rheumatology / 12.09.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Theodore Marras, MD, FRCPC, M.Sc. Assistant Professor, University of Toronto Respirologist, Toronto Western Hospital University Health Network Toronto, ON, Canada Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Marras: Mycobacterial infections (TB and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM)) are more common in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Nontuberculous mycobacteria disease was far more common than TB disease in RA patients in Ontario, Canada. Nontuberculous mycobacteria disease was also associated with increased age, COPD, asthma, and GERD. The presence of nontuberculous mycobacteria disease was associated with increased mortality.
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Rheumatology, Weight Research / 01.08.2014

Dr. Bing Lu, M.D., Dr.P.H. Division of Rheumatology Immunology & Allergy Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School Boston, MA 02115MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Bing Lu, M.D., Dr.P.H. Division of Rheumatology Immunology & Allergy Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School Boston, MA 02115 Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Lu: In two large cohorts of women, we observed that being obese increased the risk of rheumatoid arthritis in women by 40–70% depending on age and serologic status. The highest risk for rheumatoid arthritis was among women who were overweight or obese at age 18 years, emphasizing the public health importance of combating the obesity epidemic at all ages. Our study implicates being overweight or obese throughout adult life as a risk factor in the development of seropositive and seronegative RA for women diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at age 55 years or younger. The attenuated association between BMI and rheumatoid arthritis diagnosed at older ages may reflect differences in the pathophysiology of RA diagnosed at earlier ages compared with that diagnosed at older ages, or may be a result of the limitations of BMI as a measure of total fat mass as women age.
Author Interviews, BMJ, Karolinski Institute, Rheumatology, Weight Research / 17.05.2014

Maria E.C. Sandberg, MSc PhD Institutet för Miljömedicin / Institute of Environmental Medicine Karolinska Institutet Stockholm, SwedenMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Maria E.C. Sandberg, MSc PhD Institutet för Miljömedicin / Institute of Environmental Medicine Karolinska Institutet Stockholm, Sweden   MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Sandberg: Overweight at diagnosis significantly decreases the chance of achieving good disease control during the early phase of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Author Interviews, Kidney Disease, Mayo Clinic, Rheumatology / 11.04.2014

Eric Matteson, M.D. Chairman of Rheumatology Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Eric Matteson, M.D. Chairman of Rheumatology Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Matteson: “The main points are that kidney disease is more common in patients with rheumatoid arthritis than in the general population and that moderate reduction in kidney function was more likely to be associated with cardiovascular disease in these patients as well. Patients with more active disease week are also at higher risk for kidney disease. “
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Mayo Clinic, Rheumatology / 30.10.2013

Eric Matteson, M.D. Rheumatology Chair Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Eric Matteson, M.D. Rheumatology Chair Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. MedicalResearch.com:   What are the main findings of the studies? Dr. Matteson: “The main finding is that patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis have a higher risk of heart disease.  Further, women who experience early menopause also have a higher risk of heart disease.”
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Rheumatology / 29.10.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lotta Ljung, MD, PhD Umeå University, Umeå and Karolinska  Institute Stockholm, Sweden MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Ljung:  In this observational study we observed a lower risk of acute coronary syndromes in a cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) exposed to tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) compared with the risk among patients without this exposure. The adjusted relative risk (HR) was 0.73-0.82  among TNFi exposed patients compared with the biologics-naive RA cohort, depending on the time frame evaluated, which can be concluded as a moderately lower risk. Compared with the risk in the general population, the risk in RA patients was higher, whether exposed to TNFi or not.
Author Interviews, BMJ, Rheumatology / 03.10.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with A/Prof Susanna M Proudman MB BS (Hons) FRACP Discipline of Medicine, University of Adelaide Senior Consultant in Rheumatology Royal Adelaide Hospital North Terrace, Adelaide, 5000 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: In patients with early DMARD-naïve rheumatoid arthritis (RA), fish oil (delivering an average daily dose of 3.7 g dose of omega-3 fats) was associated with benefits additional to those achieved by combination treat-to-target DMARDs with similar methotrexate use. These included significantly reduced risk of triple DMARD failure, defined as needing the addition of leflunomide, and a higher rate of ACR remission. Because a structured treatment algorithm that was responsive to disease activity and tolerance was used, drug use could be used as an outcome measure for the effects of fish oil. This is one of the novel features of this study as the study design allows for a RCT to be performed on a background of treat-to-target therapy for early RA.
Author Interviews, BMJ, Outcomes & Safety, Rheumatology / 30.08.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mwidimi Ndosi, PhD, MSc, BSc (Hons), RN. Academic & Clinical Unit for Musculoskeletal Nursing (ACUMeN) Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine University of Leeds England MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: The aims of this study was to determine the clinical and cost-effectiveness of nurse-led care for people with rheumatoid arthritis. The main findings were: (i)             Patients seeing clinical nurse specialists for their rheumatoid arthritis follow-up care do not get an inferior treatment. (ii)           Nurse-led care is safe and in some aspects presents added value to patients (iii)          Nurse-led care represents good value for money in terms of disease management for people with RA.
Author Interviews, BMJ, Case Western, Rheumatology / 29.08.2013

Dr Janet E Pope Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine The University of Western Ontario, St Joseph's Health Centre 268 Grosvenor Street, London, ON, Canada N6A 4V2MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Janet E Pope Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine The University of Western Ontario, St Joseph's Health Centre 268 Grosvenor Street, London, ON, Canada N6A 4V2   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?  Dr. Pope: We performed a RCT of patients who were stable for 6 months of etanercept added to methotrexate (inadequate responders to Mtx) who were randomized to stopping Mtx or continuing Mtx to determine if in the next 6 months (and later as the trial continues) the response rate would be the same if Mtx was discontinued. Overall, Mtx + etanercept was not statistically equivalent to etanercept alone (ie non-inferiority did not occur); implying 6 months after stopping Mtx, the etanercept patients on monotherapy performed slightly less well than those on combination therapy.
Author Interviews, Fish, General Medicine, Rheumatology / 16.08.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Daniela Di Giuseppe Division of Nutritional Epidemiology Institute of Environmental Medicine Karolinska Institutet Stockholm 171 77, Sweden MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Women whose long-term intake of omega 3 PUFAs exceeded 0.21 g a day, equivalent to at least one serving of fatty fish or four servings of lean fish a week, had half the risk (52% lower) of rheumatoid arthritis of women who consumed less.