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When Cheap Generics Morph Into Expensive Prescriptions
The Wall Street Journal has reported an alarming trend in generic drug pricing that affects many, especially the elderly and those with arthrtis.
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A Neural Signature in Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a well characterized condition with disordered pain processing. Although the clinical constellation and diagnostic clues are well characterized, FM lacks a diagnostic biomarker and most imaging and tissue diagnostics have been unrevealing.
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ACP Guidelines on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Low Back Pain
Low back pain (LBP) is the fifth most common reason for all physician visits in the United States and nearly 25% of all U.S. adults have had LBP in the last 3 months and nearly 6% reported at least 1 episode of severe acute low back pain in the last 1-year.
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Most Clinicians Do Not Order MRI/CT for Nonspecific Low Back Pain
Low back pain (LBP) is a highly prevalent public health problem. Not surprisingly, imaging of LBP is also an expensive and often overused diagnostic tool.
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Long-Term Outcomes of Aromatase Inhibitor Arthralgias
Aromatase inhibitors (AI) are often given in the setting of estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer therapy.
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RheumNow Week in Review – 7 October 2016
Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights from the journals and news this week on RheumNow.com.
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CDC Says Prevalence of Severe Joint Pain is Rising
The October 7th edition of MMWR reports that severe joint pain (SJP) has significantly risen from 10.5 million in 2012 to 27.2% in 2014, based on recent NHIS surveys.
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The Arthritis Spectrum after Lyme Infection - Something New
Symptoms attributed to chronic Lyme disease are the bane of a rheumatologist’s existence. We often see patients referred for a variety of nonspecific complaints that do not resolve after antibiotic therapy, including the so-called post-Lyme disease syndrome.
Read ArticleRheumNow Week in Review – 16 September 2016
A review of this week's news including the cost of opioid abuse, a RTX biosimilar, a new drug for scleroderma, a new shingles vaccine and a CPAP disappointment.
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Fibromyalgia - Should Internists Manage a Contested Illness?
The current issue of ACP Internist discusses the considerable dissent among the medical community about fibromyalgia (FM), its cause, diagnosis and care. This review addresses many concerns with input from well-known experts in rheumatology.
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CPAP Use Fails to Prevent CV Events in Sleep Apnea Patients
There are numerous health hazards associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), including an increased risk of cardiovascular events.
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RheumNow Week in Review – 5 August 2016
Highlights from this week on RheumNow.com include:
1. Having #RA in addition to solid cancer (breast, lung, prostate, colon) increases mortality rates by 40-50% in elders https://t.co/aitjusmOai
2. The global market for rheumatoid arthritis therapies was $19.9 billion in 2015, expected to reach $21.3B by 2020 https://t.co/d2Sh5C8y9f
3. Half of doctors never heard of MACRA:Medicare Access & CHIP Reauthorization Act. Starts on Jan 1st! https://t.co/eYgWBWCw6y Blog:https://t.co/sRKZSOFyNV
And more!
Nerve Growth Factor Inhibitor Compounds Cartilage Loss in Osteoarthritis
Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a key modulator of pain perception, Inhibitors of NGF are being studied in several chronic pain conditions, including osteoarthritis (OA).
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Problems with Red Flags in Diagnosing Low Back Pain
There is considerable heterogeneity in "red flags" amongst numerous low back pain (LBP) guidelines worldwide. A "red flags" denotes a finding, which if present, imparts a significantly high risk of underlying serious spinal pathology with considerable subsequent morbidity or mortality.
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Little Evidence Favoring the Health Benefits of Vitamin D
Vitamin D certainly plays a pivotal role in bone health and immune function.
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Prevalence of Spondyloarthropathy in Fibromyalgia
With the introduction of ASAS criteria for the diagnosis of axial and peripheral spondyloarthropathy, there has been a debate about whether patients with fibromyalgia (FM) could be mistaken for a spondyloarthropathy, or vice versa.
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FDA Says Cryotherapy Lacks Evidence, Poses Risks
Cryotherapy is a non-FDA approved treatment that has been promoted to treat post-athletic injury, osteoarthritis,rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, alzheimers, migraines, asthma, multiple sclerosis, etc. Cryotherapy may be as simple as ice packs on a localized portion of the body, such as the lower back, or may involve whole body cryotherapy.
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EULAR Revised Recommendations for Fibromyalgia
The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) has published updated recommendations on the management of fibromyalgia in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (Citation source http://buff.ly/29I7e8C).
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Vagal Stimulation Improves Cytokine Production and Rheumatoid Disease Activity
PNAS has published a study wherein an inducible “inflammatory reflex” delivered by vagus nerve stimulation was shown to inhibit the production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF), an inflammatory molecule that is a major therapeutic target in an animal model of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
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Long-Acting Opioids Associated with Higher Mortality Risk
Prescription of long-acting opioids for chronic noncancer pain was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality, including deaths from causes other than overdose, compared with anticonvulsants or cyclic antidepressants, according to a study appearing in the June 14 issue of JAMA.
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