Chikungunya is a new viral cause of fever and arthritis, especially in endemic areas like the caribbean. The chikungunya epidemic has grown significantly in the Western hemisphere with a total of 1,247,000 cases and 183 fatalities since

While many adult rheumatologists are able to lessen or withdraw DMARD and biologic therapy in adults, little is known about the success of this practice in pediatric rheumatology clinics.

The global knee implants market was USD 8.4 billion in 2011, and it's forecasted to reach USD 15 billion in 2018, with compound annual growth rate of 8.64% during 2011 to 2018. The U.S.

A CDC report shows comorbid conditions exist in 73.1% of all arthritis patients. Based on NHIS survey data, the number of patients with 2 or more comorbid conditions has increased from 21.8% in 2001 to 25.5% in 2012.  Most affected were older adults (≥65 years), women, wh

25% of Medicare beneficiaries with rheumatoid arthritis use high-cost biologics.  Yazdany and coworkers have analyzed a national cohort of beneficiaries and compared Medicare part D plans.

52.5 million US adults (22.7%) have arthritis with half of these claiming activity limitation because of arthritis and pain.  Many arthritis patients have comorbid conditions including heart disease (49%), diabetes (47%) and obesity (31%).

Three phase III studies of sarilumab (SARIL-RA-TARGET, -EASY and -ASCERTAIN), a fully-human IL6 receptor antibody, have been reported and met primary end points in these pivotal clinical trials.

Carl Schoellhammerhas just won the Lemelson-MIT National Collegiate Student Prize for his invention - the microneedle pill.

The danger model was proposed by Matzinger as an alternative (or complement) to the traditional self-non-self (SNS) model of autoimmunity.

"As scholars of disease have noted, RA today appears to be a less severe disease than it was when I started my career in the 1970s. Then, patients routinely ‘went up in smoke’ and rapidly became crippled, wasting away in a state we called ‘burnt out’.

A Finnish early RA register studied 14,878 incident RA patients from 2000-2008 and identified 1157 deaths.  Patients receiving DMARDs and MTX had lower mortality rates. The standardized moratility ratio for the entire cohort was reduced (0.57, 95% CI 0.52 to 0.62).

HLA-B27 is found 6.1% of the US population, but with is seen in >90% patients with ankylosing spondylitis. HLA-B27 increases risk of spondylitis, uveitis and heart block. [Image credit: "HLA-B*2705" by Pdeitiker - Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons]

According to the Federal Trade Commission biosimilars have the potential to save the U.S. healthcare system $250 billion through 2022.

Hepatic enzyme elevations with TNF inhibitor use is not uncommon.

Researchers at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston prospectively studied 107 RA patients with regard to oral medication (DMARDs, steroids) adherence. They report that adherence was low, ranging from 58-71% overall.

In the mid-1990s, our Rheumatology Division at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School became involved with an early trial of a brand new TNF inhibitor.

Randomized clinical trials are needed to show efficacy and safety, and are needed to back up the claims and indications for a particular drug. The issue of treatment choice has become challenging, especially when choosing to start or augment therapy.