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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.
Read ArticleNIH 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
Read ArticleOpioids 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.
Read ArticleMortality 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.
Read ArticleStudy 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
Read ArticleRheumNow 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
Read ArticleRheumNow Podcast – Medical Selfies (5.24.19)
Dr. Jack Cush Reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com
Read ArticleAdditive 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.
Read ArticleRheumNow Podcast – Richer or Poorer (5.17.19)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com
Read ArticleRheumNow Podcast – Periodontitis in RA Relatives (5.10.19)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com
Read ArticleGabapentinoid 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.
Read ArticlePilot 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.
Read ArticleNonadherence is Costly for Patients in Pain
A comparative cohort study of patients with osteoarthritis (OA), gout, diabetic peripheral neuropathy (pDPN), post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), and fibromyalgia (FM) shows that nonadherence to pain medications is high and leads to greater overall health care resource utilization and costs.
Read ArticleFDA Adds Boxed Warning to Sleep Drugs
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) added a Boxed Warning to several sleep medications (e.g., eszopiclone, zaleplon, and zolpidem), warning rare but serious injuries may occur as a result of abnormal sleep behaviors (sleepwalking, sleep driving, and engaging in other activities while not
Read ArticleSleep Myths Debunked
A panel of 10 sleep experts studied 20 common sleep myths and found little or no evidence in support of these beliefs.
Sleep issues are highly prevalent among US adults, but few admit to it or do anything to manage it.
Read ArticleTiming of Shoulder Injections Impacts Surgical Infection Risk
A study of patients undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff repair shows that corticosteroid injections in the month prior to surgery are associated with a significantly increased risk of surgical site infection.
Read ArticleIntraarticular Trans-Capsaicin Effective in Knee OA
A novel study has shown that intraarticular therapy with high‐purity synthetic trans‐capsaicin (CNTX‐4975) for chronic knee osteoarthritis (KOA) was associated with significant relief of knee pain.
Read ArticleRheumNow Podcast – A Tofa Two-fer (4.12.19)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com
Read Article