Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.)
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Arthritis Rheumatol · Oct 2015
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyThe efficacy and safety of subcutaneous clazakizumab in patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis and an inadequate response to methotrexate: results from a multinational, phase IIb, randomized, double-blind, placebo/active-controlled, dose-ranging study.
Clazakizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds to the interleukin-6 (IL-6) cytokine. This study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy and safety of clazakizumab in combination with methotrexate (MTX) or clazakizumab monotherapy versus MTX alone in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and an inadequate response to MTX. ⋯ In patients with RA and an inadequate response to MTX, treatment with clazakizumab in combination with MTX or clazakizumab monotherapy was well tolerated, and patients achieved significant improvements in disease activity, including higher rates of remission, as compared with patients receiving MTX alone.
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Arthritis Rheumatol · Oct 2015
Total joint arthroplasty and the risk of myocardial infarction: a general population, propensity score-matched cohort study.
To replicate recent findings indicating that total knee arthroplasty (TKA) or total hip arthroplasty (THA) surgery will substantially reduce the risk of serious cardiovascular events among patients with osteoarthritis. ⋯ These findings provide the first general population-based evidence to indicate that TKA and THA among osteoarthritis patients are associated with a substantially increased risk of MI during the immediate postoperative period. However, the overall long-term impact of these surgeries was null, unlike the risk of venous thromboembolism, which remained elevated years after patients had undergone the procedure.