A recent study in The Journal of Rheumatology sheds light on the importance of preconceptional cardiovascular health in women with systemic lupus erythematosus. Although many questions remain, improved cardiovascular health measures seem to positively affect pregnancy outcomes, suggesting a potential role for preconception cardiovascular interventions.1 Women with lupus now have healthier pregnancies than in the…
A patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) asks if diet can help ease their symptoms. Or maybe a patient with severe knee osteoarthritis (OA) seeks diet advice because they want to lose weight and relieve pressure on their joints. Although there’s no specific nutrition plan for patients with rheumatic diseases, research has shown many dietary factors…
Funck-Brentano et al. hypothesized that causal associations for osteoarthritis (OA) may differ by site, and they undertook this study to identify causal risk factors of knee, hip and hand OA.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Dual energy computed tomography (DECT) can differentiate cardiovascular monosodium urate (MSU) deposits from calcium deposits in patients with gout, potentially identifying those at risk of heart disease, researchers say. Sylvia Strobl, MD, of Medical University Innsbruck and colleagues analyzed calcium scores and MSU deposits in 59 patients with gout (mean age: 59;…
Increased reimbursement would reflect value of cognitive care and other time-intensive services provided by rheumatologists.
New research recently found that, when combined with standard treatment, diet and exercise regimens are cost effective for overweight and obese patients with knee OA…
Using 2007–2016 data from NHANES, a nationally representative survey of American men and women, Chen-Xu et al. set out to estimate the current prevalence rates and decadal trends of gout and hyperuricemia in the U.S.
At least 6% of patients who used biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) suffered refractory disease, according to a recent study based on data from the British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Registry for Rheumatoid Arthritis.1 This observational study evaluated the extent of biologic refractory rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The study defined biologic refractory disease as occurring in…
Dominick Sudano, MD, an assistant professor at the University of Arizona and rheumatologist at Banner University Medical Center, Tucson, Ariz., knows how tough it is for patients living in remote areas to obtain a rheumatology consultation. “It’s not unusual for patients living in rural areas of Arizona to wait four to six months for a…
CHICAGO—Rheumatology healthcare providers should embrace collaborative approaches to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain in older adult patients, including models of care that involve multiple providers, patients and their caregivers. That was the message delivered by two speakers in the Interdisciplinary Management of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain in Older Adults session at the 2018 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting. “As…