"Lupus Doesn't Have Me, I Have Lupus": Using Patient-Centered Interviews to Understand Medication Nonadherence.

Background: Lupus nephritis (LN) is the most common cause of kidney injury in systemic lupus erythematosus and associated with higher morbidity and mortality. Low medication adherence correlates with adverse clinical outcomes.

Methods: In a large, integrated health system at Kaiser Permanente East Bay Area, the authors identified mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) prescriptions for LN and collected patient demographics, medication adherence, and copay data.

Advances in managing ankylosing spondylitis.

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease with prominent involvement of the spine and sacroiliac joints which frequently leads to significant spine deformity and disability. The development of effective therapies for AS, particularly with anti-tumor necrosis factor agents, has resulted in improved symptoms and functions for many patients, and clinical research increasingly suggests that effective therapy can also prevent destruction in the spine and other structures. Recent focus of disease classification in AS has emphasized that many individuals with features of inflammatory back pain but no visible changes on plain x-rays have active inflammatory disease when imaged with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).