Improving Cardiovascular Trends in Rheumatoid Arthritis

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 Myasoedova and colleagues from the Mayo Clinic have reported their new data that demonstrates improving cardiovascular (CV) mortality rates in current RA patients treated with modern drugs.

Chondroitin Superior to Celecoxib in Knee OA Cartilage Loss

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A study of 194 knee OA patients received either 1200 mg chondroitin sulfate or celecoxib 200 mg daily, and clinical and MRI outcomes were assessed at 1 and 2 years.

Hip Fracture Risk Factors in the Elderly

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As risk of hip fracture increases with advanced age, our knowledge of risk factors for hip fracture among very old people remains limited.

Knee OA (not Hand) is Associated with Higher Mortality in Women

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"Doc....the pain is killing me."

This oft heard patient complaint may be truer than you think.

No Correlation Between Urate Crystal Identification and Cardiovascular Risk

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A Danish cohort study examined patients with hyperuricemia  and compared outcomes in those proven to have urate crystal deposition (317 patients) and matched 1:1 to patients without urate crystals.

ANCA Levels Predict Relapse in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis

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A team of Japanese investigators examine 126 patients with ANCA-associated renal vasculitis to see if ANCA levels would predict disease relapse.

Downward Trends in US Mortality Statistics

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Using death certificate data from US National Vital Statistics System of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, JAMA reports a downward trend in death rates in the USA from 1969 - 2013).

Increasing Placebo Responses in the USA

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A recent analysis of randomized clincal trials (RCT) for the treatment of neuropathic pain has shown in increase in placebo responses. (Citation source http://buff.ly/1LL8yAi)

Initiation of Urate-Lowering Therapy During Gout Attacks

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A retrospective analysis examined whether it's better to initiate urate-lowering therapy (ULT) during or after an attack of acute gout.

Bronchiectasis Contributes to Activity and Seropositivity in Rheumatoid Arthritis

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UK investigators have shown that rheumatoid arthritis patients with bronchiectasis (BRRA) have a five-fold increased mortality compared to RA without bronchiectasis. It is unclear if serologic differences, activity measures and biomarkers may be different in this cohort.

Respiratory and Cardiovascular Mortality Higher in RA Women

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Using data from the Nurses' Health Study (NHS), Sparks and colleagues analyzed 119,209 women beginning in 1976. The identified 964 incident RA cases and 28,808 deaths during 36 years of prospective follow-up.

Physical Therapy Has Modest Effects on Acute Low Back Pain

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A new JAMA study shows new onset back pain treated with physical therapy yields modest short-term (3 months) improvement. 

Infertility in Rheumatoid Arthritis Linked to Disease Activity

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Women with rheumatoid arthritis are said to have a normal number of pregnancies. However, most of these are conceived prior to the onset of RA. Once diagnosed, the RA patient who wishes to become pregnant may be faced with difficult medication choices if she is planning to become pregnant.

Optimizing Treat-to-Target in RA

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Treat-to-target is a common management strategy for rheumatoid arthritis that aims to employ the strategy most effective in terms of achievement of optimal therapeutic outcomes in RA.

Healthcare Consumer Engagement Increasing

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Deloitte published its 2015 Healthcare Consumer Survey to examine online resource and technology use by patients. This is important, as the health care industry has expanded the development of online information resources, mobile applications, and personal health devices.

Hip Fractures Increased in Rheumatoid Arthritis

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An analysis of 741,589 patients over age 45 years from southern Swedish registry examined patients who were followed (between 1998 and 2012) until a hip fracture, death or exit from the region occurred.

Diffuse Alveolar Hemorrhage in Lupus Reviewed

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Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) is a rare but catastrophic complication of systemic lupus erythematosus. Presentations are usually acute and the potential for significant morbidity and mortality risk mandates early diagnosis and aggressive interventions.

Physicians Bash Meaningful Use at Open Forum

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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.

Brodalumab vs. Ustekinumab: Head-to-Head Studies of Psoriasis

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AMAGINE-2 and AMAGINE-3 are in two phase 3 studies that compare multiple doses of brodalumab (anti-IL-17) and ustekinumab (anti-12/23) in adults with moderate-to-severe psoriasis.

Ustekinumab Effective in Adolescents with Psoriasis

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Biologic and new drug development seldom targets children and adolescents. This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of ustekinumab in adolescents age 12 to 17 years with moderate-to-severe psoriasis,