Rheumatoid Arthritis

Disease State Hub

KEY CLINICAL TRIAL ADVANCES AND NEW STUDY DATA

Rheumatoid arthritis is a type of chronic autoimmune arthritis that primarily causes joint pain, stiffness, swelling, and decreased movement of the joints. It affects more than 1.3 million Americans, and approximately 75% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis are women.

Featured

Expert Q&A

Statin Use in Patients With RA to Reduce CVD, Type 2 Diabetes Risk

12/09/2023

Gulsen Ozen, MD, answers questions about her team’s research in the use of statins to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis.

12/09/2023

What’s the Take Home?

A 51-Year-Old With Musculoskeletal Symptoms

12/06/2023

Ronald N. Rubin, MD^1,2—Series Editor

Ronald N. Rubin, MD1,2 —Series Editor

A 51-year-old woman presents to your office with musculoskeletal symptoms that she had initially thought were exercise-related.

12/06/2023

Slideshow

Presentations of Arthritis

12/02/2023

This slideshow illustrates different types of arthritis featured in cases from the Consultant archives. Each slide links to the full case report for more details.

12/02/2023

Interactive Features

Slideshow

Presentations of Arthritis

12/02/2023

This slideshow illustrates different types of arthritis featured in cases from the Consultant archives. Each slide links to the full case report for more details.

12/02/2023

Pop Quiz

Onset of Rheumatoid Arthritis

08/27/2023

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can begin at any age, but the likelihood increases with age. What is the approximate age when the onset of RA is most likely?

08/27/2023

POLL

Nonpharmacologic Interventions for RA

06/15/2023

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment often consists of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions. Which nonpharmacologic intervention has been most helpful to your patients with RA? Let us know by...

06/15/2023

Pop Quiz

Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosis

02/18/2023

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is diagnosed by reviewing symptoms, conducting a physical examination, radiography imaging, and lab tests. Do you know when it is best to diagnose RA?

02/18/2023

Pop Quiz

Factors That Increase Risk for Rheumatoid Arthritis

08/03/2022

Is rheumatoid arthritis more common in women than men? Take this pop quiz to find out!

08/03/2022

Clinical Insights

Expert Q&A

Statin Use in Patients With RA to Reduce CVD, Type 2 Diabetes Risk

12/09/2023

Gulsen Ozen, MD, answers questions about her team’s research in the use of statins to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis.

12/09/2023

Conference Coverage

Referring Patients to a Rheumatologist

10/17/2023

In this video, Monica Richey, MSN, NP, speaks about when a primary care provider should refer a patient to a rheumatologist, including how to expedite the process.

10/17/2023

Video

Outcomes of Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis Initiating Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors For Cancer

09/11/2023

Jeffrey A. Sparks, MD MMSc

In this video, Jeffrey A. Sparks, MD, MMSc, discusses his study that evaluated the outcomes of patients with pre-existing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who initiated immune checkpoint inhibitors for cancer, if...

09/11/2023

podcast

podcast

Inflammation, Cardiovascular Disease, and Autoimmune Disease

07/06/2023

In this podcast, Sri Banerjee, MD, PhD, MPH, MAS, talks about inflammatory biomarkers of mortality in women with stroke and rheumatoid arthritis, including whether stroke history modifies the effect of...

07/06/2023

Podcast

Podcast

The Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis in Remission

06/23/2023

In this podcast, Georg Schett, MD, discusses the results and implications of his team’s recent study examining the tapering or stopping of medication in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who achieve stable...

06/23/2023

Rheumatoid Arthritis Snapshot

For autoimmune disease content, visit the Disease State Hub

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, inflammatory, autoimmune disease. It mainly affects the joints in a person's hands, wrists, and knees.

For rheumatologic disorders content, visit the Disease State Hub

Rheumatologists, Primary Care, Orthopaedists, Physical and Occupational Therapists

For RA that affects the lungs and heart: Pulmonologists and Cardiologists

Typically presents as tender, warm, swollen joints, joint stiffness (usually worse in the mornings/after inactivity), fatigue, fever and loss of appetite.

About 40% of patients experience signs and symptoms that aren't related to their joints. Areas affected are: skin, eyes, lungs, heart, kidneys, salivary glands, nerve tissue, bone marrow, blood vessels

For diagnosis strategies content, visit the Resource Center

Blood Tests: Elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate or C-reactive protein level can indicate if someone has RA.

Blood Tests: Other blood tests look for anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies and rheumatoid factor. A complete blood count test is used to diagnose anemia, which is common in patients with RA

For imaging content, visit the Resource Center

Imaging Tests: Imaging tests, such as X-rays, may track the progression of RA over time.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may help diagnose RA in the early stages of the disease.

For women's health content, visit the Resource Center

As of 2021, 1.5 million people in the United States have RA.
Women are 3 times as likely as men to develop RA.
Women are typically diagnosed with RA aged between 30 to 60 years.

Research Summaries

FDA ALERT

FDA Approves First Biosimilar to Tocilizumab to Treat Adults, Pediatric Patients With Arthritis

11/15/2023

Jessica Ganga

In late September, the FDA approved the first biosimilar to tocilizumab to treat adult and pediatric patients with various indications of arthritis.

11/15/2023

Research Summary

Inflammation Reduction Medications May Lower Dementia Risk in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis

02/27/2023

Researchers examined the association between inflammation-reducing medications and dementia risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

02/27/2023

COVID-19 Roundup

FDA Revises an Emergency Use Authorization, Pregnant Women Recommended to Receive COVID-19 Vaccine, and the NIH Update Treatment Guidelines

02/07/2023

This COVID-19 roundup includes coverage on a revised version of the FDA’s emergency use authorization of tixagevimab/cilgavimab, a new study that compared the efficacy of vaccines and boosters in mortality...

02/07/2023

Biomarkers

Biomarkers Help Differentiate Between Psoriatic Arthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis

02/02/2022

Making a diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis can be challenging, because as many as 10% of patients with psoriatic arthritis may have a positive test result for rheumatoid factor or anticitrullinated peptide...

02/02/2022

Symptom flare

Rheumatoid Arthritis Flare Threshold Is Determined

01/29/2022

In a recent study, researchers examined an appropriate cutoff value for identifying a rheumatoid arthritis flare.

01/29/2022

November 2023

Current Issue

November 2023

Volume 63

Issue 11

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