Fibromyalgia/Pain

Dr. Jack Cush reviews this week's news from RheumNow.com, including: placebo trumps controversial therapies, the dynamics of disease activity, fuse the big toe, and patients don’t appreciate being told “its all in your head”!

There's this low grade buzz from some rheumatologists about the potential analgesic benefits of low dose naltrexone. I haven't used it. Should you?

In honor of World Arthritis Day (Oct. 12th), The Lancet has published a public Health Policy report is to "outline a globally relevant roadmap to address the osteoarthritis identity problem, focusing on health policy responses."

Avacopan (Tavneos), the complement pathway inhibitor for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV), appeared strongly effective in an Italian registry study -- a step, maybe, toward setting to rest questions about its efficacy, if not its safety.

This pooled meta-analyses (n=197,392) shows that exercise reduced pain versus control immediately after the intervention (SMD −0.59; 95% CI −0.65 to −0.53; P0.001). The benefit held across musculoskeletal, inflammatory, neurologic and cancer pain, and for every modality tested.

The NEJM reports that retatrutide, an investigational incretin agent, was shown to yield up to 25% weight reduction, with subanalyses also showing reduced pain with knee osteoarthritis, and less apnea–hypopnea events in participants with obstructive sleep apnea.

The Annals of Internal Medicine has shown that chronic knee symptoms following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) surgery is significantly lessened by a program of physiotherapist-supervised exercise therapy with education compared to single education and self-directed

Gabapentin use jumped quickly in Michigan after the drug was removed from the state's controlled substance schedule in 2024, a cross-sectional study showed.