CHICAGO—Medicine is in the middle of an infectious-disease “revolution” that seems almost destined to lead to prevention through immunization of many diseases, including rheumatic illnesses, that never were previously thought to involve transmissible agents, an infectious disease specialist said in a session at the ACR’s 2016 State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium. An array of unlikely and fascinating…
Look inside the oral cavity of a patient for answers that go beyond what we perceive as the dentist’s domain. So goes the thinking of medical professionals interested in how oral health and bacteria-driven disease, such as periodontitis, may be linked to rheumatic disease, especially rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Bad bacteria that live in the mouth…
(Reuters Health)—People with psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory disease, are more likely to have heart attacks and strokes when they have a family history of cardiovascular problems, a Danish study suggests. Psoriasis wasn’t associated with higher risk of heart attacks or strokes when people with the skin condition didn’t have a family history of cardiovascular disease,…
Mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while acknowledging and non-judgmentally accepting one’s feelings, thoughts and bodily sensations. Known in Sanskrit as smrti, meaning “to remember,” in Pali, the language of early Buddhist scriptures, it is recognized by the word sati (mindfulness).1 Derived from ancient meditative Buddhist disciplines,…
A new study has found that treating patients who have systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with vitamin D decreases cardiovascular risk in these patients—specifically by modifying the body’s endothelial repair mechanisms. Researchers found myeloid angiogenic cells in this patient population presented with a global impairment, including decreased migration and angiogenic capacity…
“Worst of all is the pain in my calves,” she said. “It feels like burning deep inside.” So began my first encounter with a 69-year-old woman who was referred to rheumatology clinic for evaluation of two months of constitutional symptoms and a positive ANCA test, which had been ordered by her primary care doctor. Her…
(Reuters Health)—Mental health problems, like anxiety and depression, may partly explain why people with rheumatoid arthritis have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a new study. Researchers linked anger, anxiety, depressive symptoms, job stress and low social support to increasing risk of hardening of the arteries, or atherosclerosis, for people with rheumatoid arthritis…
A growing understanding of the immunomodulatory effect of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) is edging closer to having clinical applications that could one day benefit patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Researchers pursuing this as an alternative path to biomarkers are investigating whether autonomic status can be used to predict response to therapy. Seattle-area rheumatologist and…
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…
Immunoglobulin superfamily of proteins, CTLA-4 and PD-1, may generate treatments for RA, SLE