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

Articles by Natasha Yetman

What Do JIA Patients Experience? A New Case Study from the ARP Practice Committee

Talitha Cox, OT, MA, on behalf of the ARP Practice Committee  |  

What does a new patient experience as symptoms develop and diagnosis is confirmed? The ARP Practice Committee is developing persona-based case studies to help answer this and other questions. The latest topic is juvenile idiopathic arthritis…

New EPA Rule May Hinder Health Research

Linda Carroll  |  

(Reuters Health)—A new rule proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may make it almost impossible to uncover hazards such as dirty air, polluted water and environmental toxins, researchers say. The rule mandates that all underlying data from studies be made available to any and all researchers in the interests of transparency. But while…

Medicare Changes Could Have Some Patients Paying More for Drugs

Lisa Rapaport  |  

(Reuters Health)—A proposed shift in Medicare coverage for medicines administered by doctors may help reduce total drug spending, but a new study suggests it may also lead to higher out-of-pocket costs for some patients. Right now, drugs given by infusion or injection in outpatient settings are covered by Medicare Part B, which is part of…

Updated ACP Ethics Manual Provides 6-Step Approach to Dilemmas

Will Boggs, MD  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—The 2019 edition of the American College of Physicians (ACP) ethics manual provides a six-step approach to resolving ethical dilemmas and adds or expands sections that address emerging issues in 21st century medicine.1 “The Manual provides succinct guidance on issues that affect the patient-physician relationship, and also issues that have to do…

U.S. Lawmaker Launches Investigation into Pharma Drug Pricing

Yasmeen Abutaleb  |  

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—A top U.S. lawmaker has launched an investigation into pharmaceutical industry pricing practices, less than a week after he and fellow Democrats introduced legislation aimed at lowering medicine prices. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), who chairs the U.S. House Oversight Committee, sent letters to 12 drug makers seeking information on price increases, investment in research…

SLE Patients May Not Receive Enough Cardiovascular Disease Assessment & Treatment

Arthritis Care & Research  |  

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is associated with high rates of cardiovascular disease. However, research has shown that aggressive risk assessment with lipid screenings and treatment with statins may be suboptimal for these patients. A new study compared the rates of screening and treatment between SLE patients, diabetes mellitus patients and the general Medicaid population. The results: Despite having an elevated risk of CVD, SLE patients received less lipid testing and fewer statin prescriptions than other patients…

Low Muscle Density & Physical Function in Patients with RA

Arthritis Care & Research  |  

Low muscle density due to the accumulation of intramuscular fat has been observed in RA patients and is associated with higher disease activity. New research sought to understand the relationship between muscle density, physical function and strength independent of body composition, including such factors as total and visceral adiposity. The results: Compared with healthy controls, low muscle density in RA patients was associated with low muscle mass, excess adiposity and greater disability…

Silent Cardiac Impairment in SLE

Arthritis & Rheumatology  |  

Drug-naive, new-onset SLE patients, even those with inactive disease, are likely to have silent cardiac impairment, according to a new study by Guo et al. Cardiac involvement is the leading cause of death in patients with lupus, and the estimates of cardiac impairment in SLE range from 31–70%. Cardiac impairment can remain unrecognized until after autopsy. These researchers investigated the use of cardiac MRI to explore early warning signs of silent cardiac involvement in SLE and determine treatment timing…

Pfizer Plans to Increase U.S. Drug Prices in January

Reuters Staff  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters)—Pfizer Inc. said on Friday that it plans to hike U.S. prices on 41 of its medicines in January, after walking back its previous price increases this summer under pressure from President Donald Trump. The company said in a statement that the increases would be on around 10% of its drugs. Pfizer said…

Ixekizumab Improves Outcomes of Ankylosing Spondylitis

Will Boggs, MD  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Ixekizumab improves signs and symptoms in patients with radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (ankylosing spondylitis), according to results from the COAST-W study. “Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic and debilitating disease, and I have a large number of patients who have failed TNF inhibitors,” says Dr. Atul Deodhar from Oregon Health and Science University, Portland….