Vitamin D supplementation for individuals with knee osteoarthritis and low 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels did not reduce knee pain or slow cartilage loss, according to a study appearing in the March 8 issue of JAMA.

 

Muscle weakness was independently associated with disability in patients with scleroderma, and as muscle weakness worsened, disability also increased, according to findings from a retrospective, nested, case control study.

The spectrum and extent of the Zika virus is still evolving.  Lancet has reported 42 patients diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) during the Zika virus outbreak in French Polynesia.

Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene II: "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, retain that dear perfection which he owes without that title."

CBC…it’s easy as 123! The complete blood count (aka, CBC) is the most routine, but indispensable, of all medical assessments.

Overall survival and survival free of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) have both improved significantly over time in patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV), but the risk of relapse has not.

Patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA) had a higher rate of severe infections compared with the general population, a French study found.

The American Society of Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) Task Force has issued a guidance report on the use of bisphosphonates (BP) with a focus on the risk vs. benefits of such therapy. (Citation source http://buff.ly/1Nn0CVb)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a travel advisory for individuals traveling to the Caribbean and Latin America where infection with Zika virus has been prevalent.

Last month, many rheumatologists offered up their favorite quotes. Most of these were on medicine, medical skills, some pertained to rheumatology and others were axioms for life.

ICD-10 starts tomorrow, October 1st. Your Coding memory will have to increase 5-fold or more as we go from 16,000 to 68,000 new ICD-10 codes. How this will affect each of us remains to be seen. There’s a lot to learn, and many wonder if this will be the next “Y2K”.

The range of categories and diagnostic possibilities is astronomical with the new ICD-10 and its 68,000 codes.

Members of two professional medical societies griped about what they view as the Obama administration's inept attempts to regulate electronic health records (EHRs) and shared their visions for the ideal online platform at a second "town hall" meeting here Tuesday.

Who knows or ponders the articulations (joints) more so than the rheumatologist or orthopedist? We know their anatomy, their contours, tender sites and how to examine them. Adults have over 200 bones and up to 360 joints. Imagine if you had to do a DAS360?

I am often asked the question: When is the right time to taper a patient off opioids?

My view is that a patient should be tapered any time the risks exceed the benefits, or when treatment goals are not being met.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported a sharp rise in tularemia, especially in Colorado, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Nebraska.

Microvesicles are emerging as a new mechanism of intercellular communication by transferring cellular lipid and protein components to target cells, yet their function in disease is only now being explored.

Burnout among U.S. doctors affects more than half of practicing physicians, according to a new study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. (Citation source http://buff.ly/1RpV8Q0)

Reuters reports doctors who entered data into electronic health records (EHR) during patients' appointments tend to communicate less and receive lower ratings from their patients.

The harvest holiday is upon us and many will huddle around the television to enjoy their post-turkey coma; only to awaken and see the highlights of the football they intended to watch.

An article in Science Daily quotes experts at Loyola University on this matter.