After reviewing a 10-year study, the FDA cautions that prescribing clarithromycin to patients with heart disease increases the risk of heart problems or death…
It’s one thing for a developing country to lack physicians due to a scarcity of training. It’s quite another for such a vacuum to exist because the physicians were executed. In Cambodia in the 1970s, genocide perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge spared few of the educated class. If they were spared, chances were they lost…
In a recent study, upadacitinib proved safe and effective to treat rheumatoid arthritis in patients with inadequate responses to conventional synthetic DMARDs…
A stroll through downtown Stockholm presents a quintessential picture of an active community, with most people biking or walking as their preferred mode of travel. Yet children in Sweden who live with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)—currently estimated at around 64 of every 100,000—don’t always engage in this active lifestyle.1 Maura Daly Iversen, PT, DPT, SD,…
How are comorbidities for RA patients managed outside of rheumatology? A recent Canadian study developed and assessed quality measures related to preventive care and screenings for RA patients in a primary care setting, comparing RA and non-RA patients. The results: Primary care physicians often provide similar levels of care to patients with and without RA. But RA patients were less likely to receive some cancer screenings and all necessary tests to assess their cardiovascular risk…
Steady hands, nerves of steel: The endoscopic transphenoidal hypophysectomy is a delicate neurosurgical procedure. Using a three-dimensional microscope and a powerful magnetic resonance imaging machine to guide them, the surgeon must meticulously dissect the throat tissues, navigate through the palate and the sinuses to reach the base of the skull where the pea-sized master gland,…
Abatacept Approved for Adult PsA On June 30, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved abatacept (Orencia) to treat adults with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA).1 Abatacept is available as both an intravenous formulation and a subcutaneous injection.2 The approval was based on results of two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials, PsA-I and PsA-II, during which…
In the next five to 10 years, the frequency of revision total knee arthroplasty is expected to grow 600%, due to the rise in obesity in the U.S. population and increase in primary knee replacement surgeries. Physicians can use different tools to help decrease the risk of premature implant failure and improve patient outcome…