Conditions

Subcategories:Axial Spondyloarthritis Gout and Crystalline Arthritis Guidelines Myositis Osteoarthritis and Bone Disorders Other Rheumatic Conditions Pain Syndromes Pediatric Conditions Psoriatic Arthritis Rheumatoid Arthritis Sjögren’s Disease Soft Tissue Pain Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Systemic Sclerosis Vasculitis

Apremilast Proves Effective for PsA with Skin Involvement

Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP | February 24, 2016

A recent Phase 3 clinical trial found apremilast safe and effective for treating patients with active psoriatic arthritis and skin symptoms who found conventional and biologic DMARDs ineffective…

Amgen, UCB Say Osteoporosis Drug Meets Main Goal in Late-Stage Trial

Reuters Staff | February 23, 2016

(Reuters)—Amgen Inc. and Belgium-based UCB SA said on Monday that their osteoporosis drug met all the primary endpoints by reducing the incidence of new vertebral fracture in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis in a late-stage study. The topline results, from a Fracture study in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis (FRAME), showed that the drug romosozumab met a…

Dermatology & Immunology: Skin Issues Can Present Challenges

Thomas R. Collins | February 23, 2016

SAN FRANCISCO—A 40-year-old woman shows up in the clinic with scarring alopecia, with an area of hyperpigmentation on the rim of her scalp, extending from just behind the temple to behind her ears. An examination with a dermatoscope shows hyperkeratotic follicular plugging. The case—in this example, the discoid form of cutaneous lupus erythematosus (DLE)—is one…

Insight into Crosstalk Between Bone & Immune Systems

Lara C. Pullen, PhD | February 22, 2016

Osteoimmunology is an emerging field that focuses on the interaction between bone and the immune system. CD4+ T cells play an important role in the bone marrow and modulate the differentiation of bone-resorbing osteoclasts. This article reviews the role of CD4+ T cells as an osteoclastogenic population in inflammatory bowel disease…

Route of Iron Replacement Doesn’t Impact IBD Activity, Quality of Life

Laura Newman | February 20, 2016

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—The route of iron replacement therapy alters the gut microbiome and metabolomics in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but the route is unrelated to disease activity and quality of life, according to a new study. “Crohn’s disease patients are extremely fragile to disturbances and one might speculate about consequences in long-term…

2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting: T Follicular Helper Cells Emerge as Potential Treatment Target for Autoimmune Diseases

Mary Beth Nierengarten | February 17, 2016

SAN FRANCISCO—T follicular helper (Tfh) cells are emerging as an important subset of cells now recognized as important to facilitating an adaptive immune response. Developed during dendritic cell priming in vivo, these cells represent one subgroup among many of effector cells that result after naive CD4+T cells differentiate. Other well-known subgroups include Th1 cells, Th2…

2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting: RA Pathogenesis and Prevention

Mary Beth Nierengarten | February 17, 2016

SAN FRANCISCO—Evolving research into the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is increasingly showing that rather than a single causative dysfunctional pathway leading to disease, multiple pathways are involved, the study of which can shed additional light on what is occurring in a person’s body prior to developing symptoms of disease. Saying it another way, no…

Rheumatology Coding Corner Questions: ICD-10 Coding Guidelines, Conventions Refresher Quiz Part 2

From the College | February 17, 2016

A patient returns for a follow-up visit of their chronic idiopathic gout without tophi with complaints of pain and tenderness. After a thorough examination, the rheumatologist treats the patient for an acute flare of the left knee. How is this coded? M1A.1620, M10.062 M1A.1620 M10.061 M10.062 From ICD-10 coding guidelines, what are the steps to…

Rheumatology Coding Corner Answers: ICD-10 Coding Guidelines, Conventions Refresher Quiz Part 2

From the College | February 17, 2016

Take the challenge. D—Even though the patient’s chief complaint is for a follow-up of chronic idiopathic gout without tophi, the patient is presenting with an acute flare of idiopathic gout of the left knee. Acute gout and chronic gout have specific coding guidelines, because they each have an Excludes 1 note. This indicates they are…

What Listening to Lungs Might Teach About Rheumatic Disease

Simon M. Helfgott, MD | February 17, 2016

One of your first clinical assignments as a medical student was likely to have been the lung exam. Its key descriptors may still resonate in your mind: inspection, palpation, percussion and auscultation. Proudly parading down the hospital corridors, your newly purchased stethoscope snugly tucked inside your lab coat pocket, you carefully place its cold metal…