Search results for: Gout

Tocilizumab Designated as Breakthrough Therapy for GCA

Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP | October 26, 2016

To speed the development of tocilizumab to treat giant cell arteritis (GCA), the FDA designated it as a breakthrough therapy earlier this month…

NYU Langone’s Division of Rheumatology in Manhattan Advances Its Mission to Understand Rheumatic Diseases, Improve Patient Outcomes

Gretchen Henkel | October 10, 2016

From its beginnings as the Rheumatic Diseases Study Group (RDSG) in the early 1930s, NYU Langone Medical Center’s Division of Rheumatology has been built on a tradition of research and clinical care. Today’s division, with 24 full-time and 76 part-time faculty members, continues to push toward understanding the pathogenesis of rheumatic diseases and interventions to…

Rheumatologist, Jazz Guitarist Dr. Alan Schenk Connects with Patients, Colleagues by Playing Music

Linda Childers | October 10, 2016

It’s not uncommon for a new patient to arrive at the medical offices of Alan Schenk, MD, in Laguna Woods, Calif., and immediately ask him about his musical career. In addition to being a board-certified rheumatologist for the past 32 years, Dr. Schenk is also an accomplished acoustic jazz guitarist and mandolin player. Music First “I…

Blacks, Asians at Higher Risk for Allopurinol-Related Skin Reactions

Deborah Levenson | September 8, 2016

Be careful when prescribing allopurinol to black and Asian gout patients, a study newly advises. Black and Asian patients who take this ubiquitous, more-than-40-year-old medication are at much higher risk of certain serious skin reactions than are Caucasians or Hispanics. Compared with Caucasians, blacks who take allopurinol to lower blood urate levels have an increased…

When Rheumatologists Are a Patient’s Second or Third Choice for Medical Opinion

Charles Radis, DO | September 7, 2016

Outside Exam Room No. 5, the chart rack was empty, so I assumed my new consult was late. Just in case, I looked back over my shoulder as I passed by the partially open door and glimpsed the lower half of a woman holding a three-ringed binder on her lap. I squinted and took a…

Treating Asymptomatic Hyperuricemia Could Lower Risk of Developing Chronic Conditions

Martin Garber, DO | August 12, 2016

When uric acid becomes elevated in the human body, a variety of problems can develop, most notably gout—a painful, inflammatory arthritis caused by uric acid crystal deposition in joints. Chronically elevated uric acid can also lead to painful kidney stones. The majority of patients found to have hyperuricemia, however, never go on to develop gout…

HIPAA Cautions: The Problem with Personal Devices in Medical Practices

Richard Quinn | August 12, 2016

Should cell phones and other personal devices be used for work communications in a medical practice? According to one expert, these devices are a liability to rheumatologists and other providers, who should develop and enforce strict guidelines in their practices…

Biochemical Insights into Progeria Syndrome Identify Bisphosphonates, Statins as Possible Candidate Drugs to Halt Aging

Simon M. Helfgott, MD | August 10, 2016

Can We Stay Forever Young? May your heart always be joyful And may your song always be sung May you stay forever young Forever Young —Bob Dylan Beneath the rubric of orphan diseases reside some rare conditions and others that are extraordinarily uncommon. These are the diseases that most physicians either never to get to…

Rheumatologists on the Move, July 2016

Ann-Marie Lindstrom | July 12, 2016

HSS Holds First Rheumatology Gala The Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City hosted a Rheumatology Gala in May. The event, held at The Park Avenue Armory in Manhattan, was held to increase awareness of HSS’s leading research and treatment of rheumatic diseases—particularly with “high-net worth people,” according to former ACR President Mary…