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An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

Biosimilar Drugs Could Save Up to $110 Billion by 2020

Reuters Staff  |  

LONDON (Reuters)—Lower-cost copies of complex biotech drugs, known as biosimilars, could save the U.S. and Europe’s five top markets as much as 98 billion euros ($110 billion) by 2020, a new analysis showed on Tuesday. Realizing those savings, however, depends on effective doctor education and healthcare providers adopting smart market access strategies, the report by…

Medical Cannabis Helps Chronic Pain Patients Cut Opioid Use

Anne Harding  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Medical cannabis reduces chronic pain patients’ opioid use, while improving their quality of life, according to a new survey of Michigan cannabis dispensary patrons. “They report that when they make that switch they overall feel better,” Dr. Daniel J. Clauw of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, told Reuters Health in a…

Mediterranean Diet Tied to Lower Hip Fracture Risk

Andrew M. Seaman  |  

(Reuters Health)—Women who maintain an overall healthy diet may benefit from a slightly reduced risk of hip fractures later in life, according to a new U.S. study. Women who followed a Mediterranean-style diet were about three tenths of a percent less likely to break a hip over about 16 years, compared to women who didn’t…

Wise Transitions: Improving Pediatric–Adult Care

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Transitions in medical care can be high-risk periods due to the loss of continuity in care and worsening of medical conditions. Approximately one-quarter of the estimated 18 million adolescents aged 18–21 years in the U.S. have chronic conditions, including rheumatic diseases. Interventions in rheumatology practice can improve transition processes. Transition-readiness assessment tools and transition-satisfaction scales are available for use in rheumatology transition processes…

Mind-Body Therapy Helps Ease Chronic Low Back Pain

Andrew M. Seaman  |  

(Reuters Health)—Mind-based therapy programs may help ease chronic back pain, new research suggests. Patients who took part in such programs were more likely to have noticeable and lasting improvements in back pain than those who stuck to their usual routines, investigators found. Both of the approaches tested in the study—mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and cognitive…

Combination Therapy Bests Monotherapy in Severe Postmenopausal Osteoporosis

Rita Buckley  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—The combination of denosumab and teriparatide improves bone microarchitecture and estimated strength more than either drug alone in women with severe postmenopausal osteoporosis, researchers have found. Dr. Joy Tsai, from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues conducted a single-site, two-year, open-label, randomized controlled trial involving 94 women aged 45 or older…

U.S. FDA Approves Lilly’s Ixekizumab for Plaque Psoriasis

Reuters Staff  |  

(Reuters)—U.S. health regulators said on Tuesday they have approved a drug from Eli Lilly and Co. to treat adults with moderate to severe cases of plaque psoriasis. The injectable drug known chemically as ixekizumab will be sold under the brand name Taltz, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. Taltz works by blocking interleukein-17A, a…