SAN FRANCISCO—To help rheumatologists better understand the underlying mechanisms of autoimmune diseases, Mark Anderson, MD, PhD, professor of adult endocrinology, University of California, San Francisco, spoke during the 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting on ways in which immune regulation and tolerance work to ensure health in individuals who maintain tolerance to self-antigens and how these processes…
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—Bowing to pressure from lawmakers, Dr. Robert Califf, President Barack Obama’s nominee to lead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said on Thursday the agency would reform its process for approving opioid painkillers. Last month, Sen. Edward Markey (D-Ma.) placed a hold on Califf’s nomination, preventing it from being voted on by the…
A recent study on systemic lupus erythematosus examined the effects of metabolic modulators on the disease’s abnormal T cell metabolism. Using a combination therapy of metformin and 2-deoxy-D-glucose, researchers were able to normalize CD4+ T cell functions and restore defective IL-2 production in mice…
(Reuters Health)—When people undergo genetic testing to find out whether they’re at risk for a specific disease, doctors often wonder how much information to give them. What if the genetic testing results reveal a risk for a disease the patient hadn’t been wondering about? Geneticists are “grappling with what to do with all the information…
REUTERS—Five people, including two former GlaxoSmithKline researchers, were charged with a scheme to steal trade secrets from the British drugmaker for potential sale in China, according to indictments announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia on Wednesday. The indictments include charges of conspiracy to steal trade secrets, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at increased risk for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), and those taking a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor are at increased risk of cervical cancer, according to a study from Sweden. “Whether this (the increase in invasive cancers) was due to the TNF inhibitors, disease severity, or…
Over the course of a month, you diagnose systemic sclerosis in two newly evaluated patients. Their responses to the news could not be more different. Patient 1 is a previously healthy 55-year-old man who is an avid bicyclist and skier. He presents with a several-month history of rapidly progressive skin tightening extending to the proximal…
SAN FRANCISCO—“Interstitial lung disease is the last bastion of great medicine,” according to Paul Noble, MD, chair, Department of Medicine, director, Women’s Guild Lung Institute, Vera and Paul Guerin Distinguished Chair in Pulmonary Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles. Making it great medicine, he said, are the many things still unknown about this disease. In…
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can be defined as a chronic autoimmune systemic inflammatory condition characterized by symmetrical polyarthritis. Typically, patients present with pain, stiffness and warmth of the affected joints. The condition can result in extra-articular features, adding to disability, and may eventually lead to premature death, especially if not treated early and appropriately.1,2 Over the…
Different parts of Medicare cover different services. For outpatient prescription drugs, Medicare has two distinct programs with a maze of complex policies. Most physicians along with Medicare patients, retail pharmacies, Medicare drug plans as well as Medicare Advantage health plans continuously struggle with navigating Medicare drug coverage under Part B and Part D. There are…