CHICAGO—Medicine is in the middle of an infectious-disease “revolution” that seems almost destined to lead to prevention through immunization of many diseases, including rheumatic illnesses, that never were previously thought to involve transmissible agents, an infectious disease specialist said in a session at the ACR’s 2016 State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium. An array of unlikely and fascinating…
Baseball is a great sport. It’s fascinating to watch the evolving duel between pitcher and batter. As the former employs their remarkably powerful and versatile rotator cuff and forearm flexor muscles to hurl blazing pitches, the latter engages their exceptionally honed hand–eye neural link to make contact with the ball. Baseball is the ultimate summertime…
A recent editorial examined research findings on how low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in the blood affect bone health, resulting in cartilage dysfunction and the development of osteoarthritis (OA). Authors note that a high-fat diet in mice with HDL deficiency resulted in OA development; thus, they conclude that in patients with metabolic syndrome, HDL may have a causative relationship to OA…
Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is remarkably diverse in presentation and course. To assist clinicians in its management, the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) published treatment recommendations in 2009 based on a systematic evidence review. To be clinically relevant, such recommendations must be dynamic, and significant developments in PsA pathophysiology and disease assessment, particularly regarding the important contribution of comorbidities coupled with major therapeutic advances, necessitated an update of the GRAPPA recommendations…
SAN FRANCISCO—To convey the plight of rheumatology patients in sub-Saharan Africa, Girish Mody, MD, head of rheumatology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and past president of the African League of Associations for Rheumatology, recounted a story during the 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting from the World Health Organization about a diabetes patient. The…
The human intestinal microbiota is home to more than 1,000 bacterial species, containing approximately 3 million genes, many of which code for functions that have the potential to affect human physiology.1 Smaller numbers of organisms are also present in the skin, upper gastrointestinal tract, female reproductive tract and the oro- and nasopharynx. As tools have…
The microbiome comprises diverse microbial flora, including bacteria, viruses and fungi, that live on mucosal surfaces, predominantly the skin and digestive tract. Microbes evolved billions of years prior to the development of modern Homo sapiens 200,000 years ago; we have always existed with their ubiquitous presence. Despite this, the first microbe was not visualized until…
Patients with osteoarthritis often consider total knee replacement surgery to resolve pain and increase mobility. However, a recent study found that self-reported knee instability and pain are prevalent in patients both before and after primary unilateral total knee replacement surgery. One-third of the study’s participants still had knee instability after surgery, experiencing knee buckling and shifting associated with pain and limited activity. Using physical performance measurements, researchers linked self-reported knee instability following surgery to pain and poor lower-extremity muscle strength…
(Reuters Health)—Women who maintain an overall healthy diet may benefit from a slightly reduced risk of hip fractures later in life, according to a new U.S. study. Women who followed a Mediterranean-style diet were about three tenths of a percent less likely to break a hip over about 16 years, compared to women who didn’t…
Multiple studies have linked post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to an increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), specifically in men. Using data from a 22-year cohort study, researchers were able to analyze the association between PTSD and the risk of RA in women. This large study builds on and expands previous findings by exploring whether the effects of PTSD differ for RA subtypes. As a secondary objective, researchers also examined smoking as a behavioral confounder and/or mediator in the relationship between PTSD and risk for RA…