This report provides the best available prevalence estimates for the US prevalence of arthritis overall, rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile arthritis, the spondylarthritides, systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, and Sjögren's syndrome.
Rituximab therapy was not inferior to daily cyclophosphamide treatment for induction of remission in severe ANCA-associated vasculitis and may be superior in relapsing disease.
The 2009 European League Against Rheumatism recommendations for the management of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) have been updated and 15 recommendations were developed, covering general aspects, such as attaining remission.
The ACR/EULAR classification criteria for SSc performed better than the 1980 ACR criteria and should allow for more patients to be classified correctly as having the disease.
The goal of this conference was to develop practice guidelines for optimizing bone health in patients with CF, and a condensed and updated summary of the Guide to Bone Health and Disease in Cystic Fibrosis: A Consensus Conference is presented.
Endothelins may play an important role in the pathogenesis of vascular disease in patients with SSc and treatment with bosentan may be effective in preventing new digital ulcers and improving hand function.
In patients with severe ANCA-associated vasculitis, a single course of rituximab was as effective as continuous conventional immunosuppressive therapy for the induction and maintenance of remissions over the course of 18 months.
In participants with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis, mepolizumab resulted in significantly more weeks in remission and a higher proportion of participants in remission than did placebo, thus allowing for reduced glucocorticoid use.
Recommendations for conducting clinical trials in AAV deal with the following areas related to clinical studies of vasculitis: definitions of disease, activity states, outcome measures, eligibility criteria, trial design including relevant end points, and biomarkers.
This review is a condensed and updated summary of practice guidelines for optimizing bone health in patients with CF, a statement that evolved from a meeting convened by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in May 2002 to address the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of bone disease in CF.