Over time, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can lead to considerable organ damage. Preventing this outcome is complicated by a scarcity of treatment options that can drive the disease into remission and by the side effects of existing therapies, such as prednisone and other corticosteroids, which may themselves contribute to the long-term damage. The largest study…
(Reuters Health)—Vitamin D supplementation may not improve bone density or prevent fractures and falls in adults, a large new analysis suggests. After combining data from 81 randomized controlled trials, researchers found no bone benefits from supplementing the vitamin, according to the report in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, online October 4. “Our results show that…
The ACR advocates on behalf of the rheumatology community throughout the year, but it’s always especially exciting when patients join our efforts in Washington, D.C. Close to 100 patients, rheumatologists and representatives of the broader interprofessional team traveled to our nation’s capital this week to participate in the ACR’s annual Advocates for Arthritis event. Participants…
Down syndrome (trisomy 21) is one of the most common chromosomal abnormalities. According to the Genomic Resource Centre of the World Health Organization, each year 3,000–5,000 children are born with this chromosome disorder, and about 250,000 families have at least one member with Down syndrome in the U.S. Down syndrome is caused by numerical aneuploidy,…
Can principles from engineering provide a broader understanding of how the human skeleton works and be used to help prevent a common and often consequential event for people as they age—bone fractures? Research from a team of investigators that includes orthopedic surgeons and mechanical engineers suggests that, yes, looking at how engineered materials, such as…
BALTIMORE—Rheumatologists may not think about osteoporosis on a daily basis, but they should, said Dr. Karl Insogna, the Ensign Professor of Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine and director of the Yale Bone Center in New Haven, Conn., in his recent lecture at the Maryland Society for the Rheumatic Diseases. With approximately 75 million…
The American Medical Association’s (AMA) RVS Update Committee (RUC) and the Current Procedural Terminology Committee (CPT) meet six times per year to review resource costs and code descriptors for provider services. At these meetings, the ACR is represented by several volunteers and staff to provide a voice in shaping Medicare policy for rheumatology. The first…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Romosozumab improves bone mineral density (BMD) in men with osteoporosis, but safety concerns are holding up its approval in the U.S. Up to 2 million men in the U.S. have osteoporosis, and up to 13 million have osteopenia, researchers note in a report online June 20 in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology…
New research suggests circulating hsa-miR-122-5p and hsa-miR-4516 may become diagnostic biomarkers for osteoporosis. The study found the presence of these microRNAs were associated with osteoporotic fragility fractures and reduced bone mineral density…
CHICAGO—A 75-year-old woman with low bone density, who has had a fracture and has other risk factors for fracture, is treated with the bisphosphonate alendronate. After five years on the drug she comes back, wondering: Should I stop taking the drug? She’s had no additional fractures. Her bone density has improved, but her lumbar spine…