Rhabdomyolysis is a clinical syndrome characterized by muscle tissue necrosis and release of intramuscular components into the circulation. Typical manifestations include muscle pain and myoglobinuria, causing dark urine. Serum creatinine kinase (CK) enzyme levels are usually markedly elevated. Severity can range from muscle enzyme elevation in the serum of an otherwise asymptomatic patient to extremely…
A 27-year-old, left-handed man was referred to our ultrasound clinic for left elbow pain. History The patient had been a pitcher on a Minor League Baseball team. Two years before, he developed sudden, severe medial elbow pain while pitching in a game. The pain was associated with some tingling down the left medial forearm. The…
The ACR has released clinical guidance documents for pediatric patients with rheumatic disease in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, including one for multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). Jay Mehta, MD, MS, an attending physician in the Division of Rheumatology and director of the Pediatric Rheumatology Fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP),…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Using bisphosphonates for several years is associated with increasing brittleness and decreasing toughness of bone, according to a new review. “Long-term treatment with bisphosphonates can have negative side effects in some people because of their effects on bone toughness [toughness = the energy that bone tissue can absorb before cracking],” David B….
In a clinical trial, researchers compared the efficacy of abaloparatide with alendronate in reducing the risk of fracture among postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. The findings suggest initial treatment with abaloparatide may result in greater vertebral fracture reduction than alendronate…
Recent research reinforces the finding that psoriasis patients have a slightly increased risk of cancer, specifically keratinocyte cancer and lymphomas. However, the study found no association between cancer and the use of biologic treatments in this patient population…
(Reuters Health)—Age-adjusted hip fracture incidence has declined in the U.S. over the past four decades, aided by a decline in smoking and alcohol consumption, a new study suggests. Researchers examined data on 4,918 men and 5,634 women who participated in the prospective Framingham Heart Study from 1970 to 2010. Overall, the age-adjusted incidence of hip…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Interleukin (IL) 1 beta is a key player in the osteoarthritis (OA) inflammatory process and inhibiting it may help slow the disease process, according to an exploratory analysis of data from the CANTOS trial.1 CANTOS participants who were treated with the IL-1-beta inhibitor canakinumab had a significantly lower rate of total hip…
Recent research found inflammatory arthritis caused by immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) may become a long-term disease, requiring rheumatology care and immunomodulatory treatment. Some patients experience active inflammatory arthritis years after ICI cessation…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Denosumab injection delays of more than four months are associated with an increased risk of fracture compared with on-time injections, especially at the spine, new research indicates. “This study suggests the importance of timely denosumab administration when used for long-term osteoporosis management,” the researchers write in Annals of Internal Medicine.1 “When starting…