Fibromyalgia Update: Genes, Hyperbaric Therapy & Conflicts of Interest

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An Israeli crossover trial analyzed the efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in 60 patients with fibromyalgia.

IM Residents Concerned about Cost, But Don't Have Access to Cost of Care Numbers

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A large ACP survey of over 18,000 US internal medicine residents shows they often incorporate cost of care in discussions and decisions, but may not know the data (citation source http://buff.ly/1KeLq0D).

Doctors are Unaware How Opioids are Abused

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A survey of internists and family practitioners shows that half of physicians are unaware of how opioids are abused.

Adherence to Lupus Meds Linked to Increased Acute Hospitalizations

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Using Medicaid data from 2000-2006, 9,600 hydroxychloroquine new users were compared to 3,829 new users of immunosuppressive agents (IS) in patients with SLE. They assessed adherence using the MPR - the medication possession ratio.

Adherence to ETN/MTX is Greater Than Triple DMARD Therapy

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Rheumatoid management hinges on choosing your best therapies first.

Australia Allows Pharmacy Substitution with Biosimilars Without Notice

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Biosimilars are copies of the biologic medicines used to treat inflammatory and immunologic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and cancer- potentially at lower costs.

Chikungunya Infection in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

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NICE Judges Apremilast Less Cost Effective than TNF Inhibitors

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The National Institute for Heath and Care Excellence has turned down Otezla for coverage under the U.K. healthcare system for psoriatic arthritis.

Intraarticular Hip Injection of Ketorolac Equals Steroid Responses

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Using ultrasound guided intraarticular injection of the hip, 98 OA of the hip patients were randomized to receive IA ketorolac or triamcinolone. At, 1, 3, and 6 mos pain scale and Harris hip scores were improved equally in both groups with no statistical differences.

Thiazide Diuretics May Reduce Osteoporotic Fracture Risk

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A large Swedish cohort study of hypertensive men and women presented at the 25th Scientific Meeting of the European Society of Hypertension, identitied a protective effect on osteoporotic fractures among current users of thiazide diuretic drugs independent of blood pressure level.  This retr

Targeting Autoantibodies in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

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Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis carries a high mortality rate and can be a management challenge. Moreover, exacerbations of IPF may be fatal. A multicenter uncontrolled study examined the utility of targeting autoantibody production with revealed surprising results.

Frequency of Infliximab Infusion Reactions

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A Canadian registry shows that in community-based infusion clinics, infusion reactions to IFX are uncommon and mild to moderate in nature.

DSB: EULAR 2015 Safety Reports

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Biologic Use Curtails Sepsis Events. An analysis of the German biologics register, RABBIT, examined the effect of current biologic therapy on future risk of sepsis (#OP0161).

FDA News; Undeclared Dexamethasone Containing OTC Products

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The FDA has issued public warnings that 4 over-the-counter products promoted for pain relief contain potentially harmful, undeclared dexamethasone. The supplements are Asihuri Plus Forte, Ginseng She Lian Wan, Jianbu Huqian Wan, and Saurean Fong Sep Lin.

Gastroenterologists Use OTC Meds for GERD or Constipation

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When gastroenterologists responded to a nationwide survey regarding their management of GERD and contipation, half of the 830 gastroenterology respondents (23% response rate) prescribed for their patients OTC proton-pump inhibitors (PPI), 13% recommended an OTC histamine-2&nbs

The EULAR 2015 Report – Friday and Saturday

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These abstracts and presentations were presented last week on the 12th and 13th of June at the EULAR 2015 annual meeting in Rome.

Varicella Zoster Virus Commonly Found in Giant Cell Artery Biopsies

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Varicella-zoster virus infection was studied in temporal artery biopsies from those suspected of having giant cell arteritis.

The Risk of Uveitis in AS Treated with TNF Blockers

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Claims data analysis of 2115 ankylosing spondylitis patients without uveitis who started TNF inhibitor therapy revealed that the median time to the onset of uveitis was longest for those taking adalimumab (243 days), followed by etanercept (182 days) and infliximab (144 days).&nbsp

Expanding Global Biosimilar Market

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Between 2010 and 2013, $95 billion in branded pharmaceutical patents will have expired, leading to significantly higher sales opportunities for those manufacturing generics and biosimilars.

The EULAR 2015 Report- Friday

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These abstracts and presentations were presented 12 June at the EULAR 2015 annual meeting.