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Similar Outcomes for Hip Arthroplasty or Hemiarthroplasty in Hip Fracture
The NEJM reports on a randomized comparison of hemiarthroplasty and total hip arthroplasty in displaced femoral neck fractures and shows no difference in function and quality of life over 24 months.
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MMWR: Increased Opioid Use in Lupus
Opioids are generally not indicated for pain in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and other rheumatic diseases because of limited efficacy and risks for preference and adverse health effects.
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Arthritis Foundation Releases First CBD Guidance for Adults With Arthritis
As the leading organization for people with arthritis, the Arthritis Foundation has just released the first CBD guidance for adults with arthritis. CBD, or cannabidiol, a plant-based compound, has become popular among people with arthritis seeking to ease chronic joint pain.
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74 Percent of Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Dissatisfied with Treatment
CreakyJoints has completed a 258 patient survey showing that nearly three-fourths of people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have expressed dissatisfaction with their treatments, including conventional (csDMARDs) and biologic Disease Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs (bDMARDs).
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Top Rheumatology Centers Led by Johns Hopkins
Medscape has reported the results of the US News & World Report's annual ranking of the best adult rheumatology hospitals nationwide has again honored Johns Hopkins Hospital, with runner up status going to the Cleveland Clinic, Hospital for Special Surgery, NewYork-Presbyterian Unive
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Partial or Total Knee Replacement for Osteoarthritis?
Lancet has reported on a clinical trial comparing total knee replacement (TKR) and partial knee replacement (PKR) in late-stage isolated medial compartment knee osteoarthritis patients finding that both TKR and PKR are equally effective, PKR should be considered the first, because of lower costs
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Intraarticular Capsaicin in Knee Osteoarthritis
A novel compound, synthetic trans‐capsaicin (CNTX‐4975), has been studied as an intraarticular injection and shown to significantly reduce pain in patients with chronic moderate‐to‐severe osteoarthritis of the knee.
A phase II, multicenter, double‐blind study enrolled 172 knee OA patients between the ages of 45–80 years. Patients were randomized to receive either intraarticular placebo, or a high‐purity synthetic trans‐capsaicin CNTX‐4975 0.5 mg, or CNTX‐4975 1.0 mg.
A Potential Biomarker for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Patients
Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome affects at least 2 million people in the United States and bears tremendous overlap with fibromyalgia - both being difficult to diagnosis because the symptom complex is often unrecognized and these conditions have no biomarker test.
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NIH Conference Review of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
The current issue of JAMA reviews recent advances on chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis/(ME/CFS), based on a 2-day conference held at the NIH in an April 2019.
The NIH 2-day conference reviewed recent progress and new research in several areas described below.
Safety Concerns Offset the Modest Improvements of Tanezumab in Osteoarthritis
JAMA reports that although tanezumab is modestly effective in moderate to severe osteoarthritis (knee or hip), with statistically significant improvements in pain and physical function, the tanezumab (TNZ) treated patients had more joint safety events and total joint replacements than pa
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Opioids Overused in Acute Gout
Opioids were commonly given to patients as a treatment for acute gout attacks, despite the availability of other effective and appropriate therapies, a retrospective study found.
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Mortality from Falls in the Elderly
JAMA reports that there is a trend of increasing mortality from falls in older US adults between 2000 to 2016 and that mortality rates are increased with increasing age.
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Study Looks at Opioid Use After Knee Surgery
A small study looked at whether reducing the number of opioid tablets prescribed after knee surgery would reduce postoperative use and if preoperative opioid-use education would reduce it even more
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RheumNow Podcast – Rituximab Monitoring (5.31.19)
Dr. Jack Cush presents the news and best of rheumatology and medicine from the past week on RheumNow.com
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RheumNow Podcast – Medical Selfies (5.24.19)
Dr. Jack Cush Reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com
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Additive Effects of Insomnia and Depression on Osteoarthritis
A study of osteoarthritis patients, finds that pain is the primary driver for health care utilization, and that the presence of insomnia or depression augments health care use.
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RheumNow Podcast – Richer or Poorer (5.17.19)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com
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RheumNow Podcast – Periodontitis in RA Relatives (5.10.19)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com
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Gabapentinoid Drugs Overuse and Misuse
A recent article in JAMA by Drs. Goodman and Brett reviews the increasing off label use of gabapentinoid drugs, originally developed as antiseizure drugs that are now increasingly prescribed for painful conditions.
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Pilot Study Targets Insulin Resistence in Fibromyalgia
An unusual pilot study has shown that insulin resistence (IR), assessed by Hgb-A1c levels, was more prevalent in fibromyalgia (FM) patients compared to non-diabetic controls and that when FM patients were given metformin, half had complete resolution of their pain.
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