Medications

Findings from a phase 2a proof-of-concept study suggest that the GM-CSF otilimab may deserve further investigation for inflammatory hand osteoarthritis.

The IL-6 inhibitor tocilizumab does not improve pain or function in patients with hand osteoarthritis relative to placebo, suggests research reported in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

Treatment with the IL-1β inhibitor canakinumab is associated with a reduced incidence of total joint replacement, suggests an exploratory analysis of the CANTOS trial.

Placebo, followed by telephone-based cognitive behavioral therapy, does not meet noninferiority criteria compared with meloxicam for pain relief in patients with knee osteoarthritis, say US researchers.

Vitamin D and marine omega-3 fatty acid supplements are unlikely to improve chronic knee pain associated with osteoarthritis, suggests an analysis of the randomized VITAL trial.

Diacerein has comparable efficacy to celecoxib for pain reduction in patients with moderate-to-severe symptomatic knee osteoarthritis and is well tolerated, suggest study findings reported in Rheumatology.

The OA TREAT investigators have demonstrated that hydroxychloroquine does not improve pain, function, or radiographic progression in patients with inflammatory and erosive hand osteoarthritis.

Findings from a large prospective cohort study show that regular use of a glucosamine supplement is associated with a reduced risk for all-cause and cause-specific mortality among the general population.

Findings from two questionnaire studies suggest that a substantial proportion of rheumatology patients have experienced changes to their disease management since the emergence of COVID-19.

Annual infusions of zoledronic acid do not reduce cartilage volume loss, pain, or bone marrow lesion size in people with knee osteoarthritis, suggest findings from the phase 3 ZAP2 trial.

People with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis who undergo physical therapy have greater reductions in pain and functional disability over 1 year than those given intra-articular glucocorticoid injections, randomized trial results suggest.

Sprifermin, also known as recombinant human fibroblast growth factor 18, increases cartilage thickness and reduces cartilage loss in patients with knee osteoarthritis independent of location in the femorotibial joint, shows a post-hoc analysis of the FORWARD study.