Pathologists are legendary for blending their work product with the culinary arts. Through the years, their use of delectable foods as descriptors has created a clever way to indelibly link in the minds of clinicians the histopathologic observations of disease with an assortment of these tasty foods: There is the depiction of an apple green…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Treatment of uveitis with adalimumab is linked with “clinically meaningful” differences in quality of life compared with treatment with placebo, new research shows. Dr. John Sheppard of Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Va., tells Reuters Health, “Regardless of underlying etiology or lack thereof, uveitis can have a profoundly adverse effect upon…
Alyssa B. Dufour, PhD, is a salsa dancing junkie. Besides taking weekly dance lessons, she salsa dances three times a week at local clubs or studios and practices routines around the house—while cooking dinner, getting dressed or watching TV. She can’t seem to get enough of the social dance that has boosted her confidence in…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Ongoing investigation into the disease mechanisms of inflammatory myopathies is generating needed information for the development of potential future therapeutic targets, and current data from clinical trials have shed light on myopathy concerns in different cohorts of patients. These issues were all discussed in a session titled Muscle Biology, Myositis, and Myopathies I during…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Taking high-dose non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) with a TNF inhibitor as an ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patient is linked with a 61% decrease in the chances your disease will progress, suggesting there may be a synergy when the drugs are used together, according to a longitudinal observational study from researchers at the University of California,…
Systemic autoimmune diseases are thought to result from immune dysregulation in genetically susceptible individuals who were exposed to environmental risk factors. Many studies have identified genetic risk factors for these diseases, but concordance rates among monozygotic twins are 25–40%, suggesting that nonheritable environmental factors play a more prominent role.1,2 Through carefully conducted epidemiologic and other…
A recent study in nurses and healthcare professionals examined the efficacy of a novel ergonomic aid for managing low back pain. After a three-month trial, researchers found that the aid, Spinal Underwear, reduced low back pain, suggesting that musculoskeletal symptoms may be influenced by posture and somatization…
Wash your hands. This most basic tenet of proper hygiene has been drummed into our heads for years. It’s an obvious infection prevention activity, yet for years, compliance among physicians and other caregivers has been lackluster. To rectify this matter, regulatory agencies began auditing hospital staff adherence to this axiom of infection prevention. Not only…
Although gout is one of the most effectively treated of all rheumatic diseases, it is among the worst-managed diseases long term, as shown by many studies. “Treatments are excellent, yet are dramatically under-utilized,” says Theodore Fields, MD, FACP, rheumatologist, Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), New York. “This is because some gout patients feel better between…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Although political polarization in the U.S. has affected many people’s interest in participating in legislative and advocacy efforts that promote their concerns, William Harvey, MD, MSc, the ACR’s (immediate past) chair of the Government Affairs Committee, encouraged rheumatologists and ACR/ARHP members to remain engaged and get involved with the ACR to fight for issues…