Rheumatoid Arthritis

Participants receiving tocilizumab therapy for rheumatoid arthritis were more likely to have acquired factor XIII deficiency than those receiving other therapies.

Brown bag counseling sessions do not have to be time-consuming or burdensome.

The struggles of managing rheumatoid arthritis and how pharmacists can help are illustrated through one patient's experience.

Researchers in the Netherlands found that improvements in diagnostic testing, new treatments, and better management may be responsible for improvements in physical disability, anxiety, and depression ratings over the past 20 years ago in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

A study published by the American Journal of Pharmacy Benefits compares dose escalation patterns of patients treated with TNF blockers.

A guide to treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, the most common chronic inflammatory joint disease.

A recent study compared the annual cost per treated patient for a health plan for patients taking etanercept, adalimumab, or infliximab.

Rheumatologists in Austria and The Netherlands have proposed a reclassification of synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) into targeted synthetic DMARDs and conventional synthetic DMARDs.

The FDA has added a new black box warning to 2 drugs, rituximab (Rituxan) and ofatumumab (Arzerra) for the potential of either drug to cause reactivation of hepatitis B virus (HBV).

Reports from the United States and Europe reference the lack of long-term effectiveness studies and the lack of comparative effectiveness studies as challenges in determining the most appropriate initial biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) treatment for patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

An assessment of costs and specialty drug use within 4 chronic conditions found specialty drugs contribute to overall costs for insurance plan members.

Newer treatments have greatly improved outcomes for patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

An analysis of 6209 patients drawn from the Consortium of Rheumatology Researchers of North America found that nearly half of patients discontinue treatment with biologics within 2 years.

A recent study found glucocorticosteroids to be associated with nearly a 70% increased risk of myocardial infarction in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Prime Therapeutics' new studies, scheduled to be presented at AMCP, reveal that expected medical savings from the utilization of specialty drugs no longer offset the high cost of these therapies for the treatment of hepatitis C and rheumatoid arthritis.

The utilization of biologics for rheumatoid arthritis and the management of the condition by specialty pharmacies are examined in 2 new studies from The American Journal of Pharmacy Benefits and The American Journal of Managed Care.

Xeljanz (tofacitnib) tablets are indicated for adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis who have failed methotrexate.