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

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…

Health Insurer Anthem Sues Express Scripts over Drug Pricing

Reuters Staff  |  

(Reuters)—Health insurer Anthem Inc. said it had sued pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts Holding Co. to recover damages from drug pricing it believes was too high. The lawsuit, filed on Monday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, is the latest development in a month’s long dispute over Anthem’s contract with…

Older Americans Taking More Medications

Andrew M. Seaman  |  

(Reuters Health)—The proportion of older Americans taking at least five medications or supplements went up in a recent study. The increase in people using multiple medications paralleled an increase in the number of older Americans at risk for major drug interactions, researchers found. “That’s a concern from a public health standpoint, because it’s getting worse,”…

FDA Says It Requires Boxed Warning on Some Opioid-Based Painkillers

Reuters Staff  |  

(Reuters)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced on Tuesday new required class-wide safety labeling changes for immediate-release opioid pain medications. Among the changes, the FDA now requires these pain medications to carry a new boxed warning about the serious risks of misuse, abuse, addiction, overdose and death. The FDA also requires several additional safety labeling…

Knowledge of Genetic Risk Doesn’t Prompt Behavior Changes

Kathryn Doyle  |  

(Reuters Health)—Telling patients about their genetic risk for disease doesn’t usually lead to healthy behavior changes, such as eating better or exercising more, according to a new analysis of existing studies. Researchers selected 18 studies that tracked seven potential behavior changes—such as quitting smoking, diet, physical activity and using sun protection—among people who had received…

Fibromyalgia & Bipolar Spectrum Disorder: A Shared Pathophysiology May Lead to Better Drug Targets

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Patients suffering from fibromyalgia and those suffering from bipolar spectrum disorder experience similar symptoms. Research suggests that these diseases may share a pathophysiological process, particularly a similar impairment in the prefrontal-limbic networks of the brain. A new editorial addresses how a better understanding of the potential shared biological underpinning of these diseases could result in unique drug targets…

U.S. Agency Issues New Guidelines to Limit Chronic Use of Opioids

Ransdell Pierson  |  

(Reuters)—Addressing a growing “epidemic” of opioid overdoses and abuse of the prescribed painkillers in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday released voluntary guidelines that instruct primary care doctors to sharply deter use of the medicines for chronic pain. “Overprescribing opioids, largely for chronic pain, is a key driver of America’s…