A recent study examined the functional variants within microRNAs that affect bone metabolism and possibly bone disorders. Researchers found overexpression of microRNAs may contribute to the osteoporotic phenotype, and the gene targets associated with two specific osteoblast-expressed microRNAs may be critical in osteoporosis…
Multi-disciplinary care may be a slowly growing trend. One clinic in Ohio is raising the bar for lupus patients, serving as a one-stop center for diagnostic testing, imaging services and physical therapy. The clinic is also able to conduct basic research to advance lupus treatment and tests…
(Reuters Health)—Mindfulness-based stress reduction programs (MSBR) appear to improve low back pain only slightly, and only temporarily, a review of previous research suggests. These programs combine meditation while sitting and walking, yoga, focusing attention on different parts of the body and incorporation of mindfulness/awareness into everyday life. Earlier studies found MBSR to be helpful for…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—The oral Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor tofacitinib appears to improve moderate to severe nail psoriasis, according to a new study. “Nails are hard to treat in psoriasis and we need better treatments,” says Dr. Luis Garza, a dermatologist at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, who was not involved in the research….
A recent study examined the relationship between complement activation and coronary artery disease in patients with rheumatic disease. Researchers found these patients had higher plasma terminal complement complexes and more complement activation in the vascular adventitia, which may accelerate cardiovascular disease and act as a target for new therapies…
NKTR-181, a mu-opioid agonist analgesic, has proved safe and effective for treating chronic low back pain vs. placebo in a recent clinical trial…
For patients with rheumatic disease, general treatment guidelines for managing cardiovascular risk are suboptimal, says Katherine Liao, MD. A patient’s level of disease activity and inflammation affect their risk…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with IV tocilizumab alone or with methotrexate maintained clinical benefits during their second year of treatment, researchers say. Sophie Dimonaco of Roche Products Ltd. in Welwyn Garden City, UK and colleagues sought to determine whether the efficacy and safety of IV tocilizumab, as demonstrated in…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Conference goers who braved the final day of the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting were awarded for their stamina by learning about issues relating to the damage caused by systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) during the session Systemic Lupus Erythematosus—Clinical Aspects and Treatment V: Damage and Morbidity. Minimizing Damage: Early Use of GC-Sparing Strategies Jayne Little,…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Experts at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting session, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus—Clinical Aspects and Treatment IV: Biomarkers, reported on a number of recent studies showing advancement in our understanding of the disease mechanisms underlying systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) that place these patients at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and other comorbidities. Mechanisms of CVD Risk…