Community Screening for Fracture Risk in Older Women is Effective and Feasible

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A UK Study published in Lancet shows that community-based screening programme for fracture risk in older women is feasible, and may reduce hip fractures. 

Bone Marrow Edema May be Found in Normals, Athletes and Military Recruits

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Rheumatology has published a study demonstrating that bone marrow edema as measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be found in healthy people, but that such changes do not change with intense physical activity.

Rheumatology Year in Review

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During 2017, the improvements and refinements seen during previous years in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis have been extending to other conditions ranging from psoriatic arthritis to lupus and for both monoclonal antibodies and oral small molecule medications.

PRECISION Subanalyses Question Aspirin Use

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The PRECISION trial reported last year that celecoxib appears to be safer than the NSAIDs naproxen or ibuprofen in treating osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis patients who are at increased cardiovascular risk. New data suggests that adding aspirin may nullify this advantage, according to a study presented at the annual American Heart Association meeting and reported by Medscape.

ACR Clinical Guidelines Flawed by Low Evidence

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JAMA Internal Medicine has reported that recommendations and clinical practice guidelines from the American College of Rheumatology are often based on expert opinion, but lack rigorous (grade A) evidence to support many of their recommendations. 

Prevalence of Arthritis Grossly Underestimated

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Researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine have published a new report showing that arthritis affected 91 million adults in the US in 2015 or 37% of the poplulation. Their prevalence estimate is 68% higher than previously reported arthritis national estimates. 

Vitamin D Insensitivity in the Rheumatoid Joint

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Researchers from the University of Birmingham have shown that while Vitamin D may be effective at preventing the onset of inflammation, it is less effective once inflammatory disease is established - largely because, once established, rheumatoid arthritis leads to vitamin D insensitivity.

ACR17 Good News – Ankylosing Spondylitis and Spondyloarthritis

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The following is a collection of AS/SpA-specific mentions culled from RheumNow's coverage of the Annual ACR 2017 meeting in San Diego.

J&J Hit with a $247 Million Verdict over Metal-on-Metal Hip Replacements

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Reuters reports that a federal jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson and its DePuy Orthopaedics division to pay $247 million settlment to six patients who suffered from its defective Pinnacle, metal-on-metal, hip implants. in the US. J&J says it will  appeal this decision.

The RheumNow Week in Review - 17 November 2017

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and highlights from the past week on RheumNow.com. This week he covers FDA warnings on gout drugs, steroid use in Australia, biosimilars lost savings and methotrexate hepatotoxicity in psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

DEA Cracks Down on Illicit Fentanyl

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Reuters reports that  U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has declaed it would classify illicit versions of fentanyl at the same level as heroin, allowing criminal prosecution of anyone who possesses, distributes or manufactures illicit versions of the drug.

The ACR17 RheumNow Week in Review - 10 November 2017

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This special edition of the RheumNow Week in Review covers highlights of selected sessions from the 2017 ACR annual meeting in San Diego. Dr.

Podcast of ACR 17 - Day 3

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Check out this compilation of our ACR17 Day 3 broadcasts, merged into a single one hour podcast !

Who Are We Doing This For?

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We take many things for granted. I walked 11,151 steps today going from sessions to posters and exhibit halls to learn as much as I can to take back to my clinic so I can help my patients.  My feet were hurting, and my back bothered me as I tried to get comfortable for the next lecture; yet, these minor discomforts are nothing compared to what our patients experience on a daily basis.

ACR 2017 - Day 2 Highlights

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In the afternoon on Monday, the ACR ran a clinical symposium on gout. One presentation stood out, on “Asymptomatic hyperuricemia” (AH) by M. Pillinger, MD from NYU Medical School. At issue is when should AH be treated.

ACR 2017 - Day 1 Highlights

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Curtis and colleagues presented a plenary session that analyzed the duration of drug holidays and the risk of subsequent fractures (FX) in women starting bisphosphonates (BP).

Romosozumab vs Alendronate in Postmenopausal Osteoporosis

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Poster 318 presented at the ACR on Sunday morning caught attention of many, highlighting updates in phase 3 active controlled study of romosozumab vs alendronate in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis with high risk of fracture.

Safety of Long-Term PPI Use

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The current issue of JAMA reviews the safety of long-term use of proton pump inhibitors (PPI). The following is a collection of the evidence about these purported risks.

Fractures

Romosuzumab Followed by Alendronate is Best in Fracture Prevention

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The NEJM reports that in high risk post-menopausal women, romosozumab for 12 months followed by alendronate resulted in a significantly lower fracture than alendronate alone. 

CDC: 40% of U.S Adults Claim to Have Arthritis

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The CDC has reported its 2013 and 2014 prevalence statistics for arthritis and other chronic medical conditions affecting U.S. adults aged ≥18 years. Data is drawn from the ongoing Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a state-based, telephone survey of noninstitutionalized adults. Data herein is self-reported arthritis (OA, RA, Gout, FM) and is quantified by state and metropolitan areas.