October is Raynaud's Awareness Month according to the Raynaud's Association (http://www.raynauds.org), and a whopping 80 percent of sufferers are not aware they have the disorder and do not seek treatment.

Knee replacement surgery is on the rise, and so is the cost.

A recent article by Dr. Joseph Eastern of the Pediatric News Network addressed an issue that confronts all practitioners - how do you handle email from patients?

PLOS has reported the results of the 2012 US National Health Interview Survey that focuses on fibromyalgia.

Long-term management of osteoporosis can be challenging, and given the increasing number of choices, the best sequence of drug use has not been addressed adequately.  

The disease activity score (DAS28) has been developed as a dynamic assessment tool and a therapeutic response measure for use in clinical trials and practice.

The effects of prior breastfeeding on bone density of postmenopausal women have been controversial. Several studies suggest that breastfeeding and childbirth lead to maternal calcium loss and a decline in bone mineral density (BMD).

Yoga and stretching appear to be important forms of exercise for patients with fibromyalgia, but their utility has seldom been explored in patients with rheumatoid or osteoarthritis.

The hallmarks of fibromyalgia -- widespread pain, poor sleep, effort intolerance, fatigue -- are difficult to manage and usually require medication and a multi-modal approach.

Researchers in Zurich studed 102 systemic sclerosis with serial PFTs and high-resolution computed tomography of the chest (HRCT). They found significant interstitial lung disease (ILD) by HRCT in 63 percent.

Researchers from Malmo, Sweden have analyzed data from 383 patients, taken from two population based health surveys with a total of 50,705 participants, and found there is a strong association between a high BMI in men and a lower risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

A nationwide study of 8600 ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients from Sweden, compared survival to 40,460 controls between 2006-2012.

This week's Daily Download is the fibromyalgia “packet” we give to our patients once they have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia.

The herpes zoster (HZ- shingles) vaccine was FDA approved for use in individuals over age 50 years.  However, the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has recommended it only be used in those over age 60 years.  

Since the 2005 FDA hearing that resulted in the removal of Vioxx and Bextra from the US market, the safety of nonselective NSAIDs (nsNSAIDs) and selective Cox-2 inhibitors (e.g., celecoxib) has been repeatedly questioned, often without new or substantive data.

Lancet has reported that people are living 6.2 years longer, worldside since 1990.  Yet, there has been a rise in illness and disability,and a complex mix of fatal and non-fatal ailments leading to a large amount of health loss.

Haroon et al has analyzed administrative claims data from Ontario, Canada and compared 21473 AS patients with 86606 normal comparators matched for age, sex, and location of residence.

In a decade-long study of the effects of growth hormone (GH), 80 women with osteoporosis on HRT, between ages of 50-70 yrs were randomized to receive GH 1.0 U or GH 2.5 U recombinant human GH or placebo sc daily during 3 years and compared to an age-matched populatoin sample of (n=120).

In a recent study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics SocietyTaiwan investigators examined the Annual Geriatric Health Examination Program database (2006 to 2010) to estimate the all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality risks associated with serum uric acid le

Early and aggressive treatment of rheumatoid arthritis has become the mantra for most who manage the disease and hope to achieve optimal outcomes - including remission.