A meta-analysis confirms prior research suggesting exercise therapy benefits patients with knee and hip osteoarthritis (OA). The study found greater improvements in pain, function, performance and quality of life in patients with milder, as opposed to more severe, OA…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Nearly three in 10 patients seeking care at the emergency department (ED) for acute gout will be discharged with a prescription for opioids, new research shows. “Our study suggests a high use of prescription opioid in patients discharged from the ED with a diagnosis of gout, a condition that can be managed…
Recent research shows bimekizumab may improve patient-reported outcomes and quality of life for ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients…
In a recent study, tanezumab proved safe and effective in the treatment of knee and hip osteoarthritis…
The phase 3, RA-BEAM study found RA patients who were switched from adalimumab to baricitinib experienced improvements in disease control even in the absence of an adalimumab washout. In the study, the change was not associated with an increase in adverse events or infections…
So far it has been a busy year for the Affiliate Society Council (ASC). Forty-three states are now affiliated with the ACR through the ASC, and we may add another next year. Also, many state legislative sessions have wrapped up, so it’s a great time to provide an overview of the successes—and some of the…
SAN FRANCISCO—The challenges of trying to solve the puzzle of lupus, in light of its broad heterogeneity of symptoms, manifestations in clinical involvement and treatment response, and the sheer complexities of the immune system, are driving researchers into ever more elaborate investigations of how the immune system functions in lupus patients. Genetic, transcriptomic and epigenetic…
A recent analysis of retrospective clinical data on patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) at 14 Canadian centers found that a surprisingly high proportion—at least one-third—had active disease at any point over five years of data collection.1 It has been a longstanding belief among clinicians that SLE becomes less active over time, although its accumulation…
Kim Steinbarger, PT, MHS, knows how physical and occupational therapy can make a difference for patients with rheumatic diseases. Ms. Steinbarger was just two years into her career as a physical therapist (PT) when she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in 1991. “I’ve seen how regular exercise serves as an important tool in managing…
Eosinophilic gastroenteritis (EGE) is a rare condition caused by eosinophilic infiltration of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The condition is subdivided into the GI layers it affects: mucosal, muscular and subserosal.1 EGE usually presents with non-specific GI symptoms, such as impaired motility, intestinal obstruction and, rarely, ascites.2 Below, we report a rare case of EGE leading…