New research by physicists from Johns Hopkins University explores the correlation between the sun’s geomagnetic activity and the incidence of giant cell arteritis and rheumatoid arthritis, including geographic latitudes that put residents at highest risk.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—A new study has identified myocardial and vascular abnormalities in patients with newly diagnosed, treatment-naive rheumatoid arthritis (RA). “The study suggests cardiac abnormalities already exist in newly diagnosed patients with RA,” senior author Dr. Maya Buch of the University of Leeds in the UK told Reuters Health by email. “Specifically, a reduction…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Ultrasound-defined tenosynovitis (TS) is a strong predictor of early rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to new findings presented at the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) Annual Congress in Rome. Patients with TS of the extensor carpi ulnaris (ECU) tendons or the finger flexor tendons were more than six times as likely to be…
Biosimilars for etanercept and sarilumab are being examined in multiple Phase 3 trials for their effects in RA and psoriasis patients.
Although compelling data exist to support a link between periodontal disease (PD) and the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), cementing the association will require extensive investigative work.1 However, in reviewing the literature of the past 10 years, Elliot D. Rosenstein, MD, director, Institute for Rheumatic and Autoimmune Diseases at Overlook Medical Center, Summit, N.J., and…
Rheumatologists have growing concerns about how we manage rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the disease outcomes we are achieving.1 Over the past two years, clinician rheumatologists have begun working together to address these problems through the Rheumatoid Arthritis Practice Performance (RAPP) Project, a nationwide clinical quality-improvement initiative. The RAPP Project has now grown to 168 participants…
Glucocorticoids: The Debate Continues Déjà vu … In past decades, rheumatologists have seen, heard, practiced and taught much of what has been argued in the “ongoing debate” on the use of glucocorticoids (GCs) in the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).1 It is heartening to note that eminent professors have stuck to their premise all these…
According to a new study, patients with RA experiencing weight loss unrelated to exercise may be at risk of premature death.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—A number of recent studies support last year’s update of 2010 treat-to-target recommendations for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to the international task force that revised them. Dr. Josef S. Smolen from Medical University of Vienna, Austria, and colleagues updated their 2010 advice based on systematic literature reviews and expert opinion. They left…
In late March 2012, I awoke with pain in my left hand. I had difficulty moving my metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints. They did not move smoothly, but clunked. As I repeatedly attempted to open and close my hand, I realized that I had morning stiffness. As the pain and stiffness gradually improved over the next hour,…