Editor’s note: The new Pillar Talk column is developed by the ARHP Executive Committee in an effort to share information about ongoing activities related to our four pillars: Education, Practice, Research and Advocacy. The ARHP Online Education Portfolio continues to evolve and grow. The Advanced Rheumatology Course (ARC) and the Fundamentals of Rheumatology Course (FRC)…
Here’s a trivia question: Where were the big ideas for the field of biotechnology first discussed? Answer: At a since-demolished delicatessen in Waikiki Beach, Hawaii. Go figure. The year was 1972, and Stanley Cohen, MD, professor of medicine at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., and Herbert Boyer, PhD, a former professor and biochemist at the…
Rheumatologists treating HIV patients in 2017 must think through many important factors as this population ages. As we continue to learn, rheumatologists must consider important drug–drug interactions, relatively uncommon rheumatological presentations of HIV, as well as specific diagnostic challenges. Working closely with infectious disease specialists is the best way to achieve optimum care for this…
While members of Congress debate healthcare legislation, rheumatologists say many of their patients struggle to afford everything from generic drugs to insurance copayments for physical therapy. “It’s a mess. The cost of prescriptions and the rationale for those rising costs in the U.S. right now—it’s just a mess,” says James R. O’Dell, MD, Stokes-Shackleford Professor of…
When she was in elementary school, Sandra Pagnussat, MD, began experiencing unrelenting pain and stiffness, first in her pinky and then in her other fingers. Her pediatrician diagnosed her with polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). In high school, Sandra decided to pursue a career in medicine and began taking advanced placement classes in biology and chemistry….
At present, the U.S. has approximately 5,000 full-time adult rheumatologists. By the year 2025, that number will decline to roughly 3,600.1 Sounds dire, right? Hold that thought. Question: What country has 99 million people and no adult rheumatologists? Answer: Ethiopia.2 The Nigerian Story And then there is Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, with roughly 170…
An 83-year-old established female patient who resides in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) and is diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis with rheumatoid factor in multiple joints returns to the office for her first infliximab infusion. She denies fevers, cough, dyspnea or concurrent illness, but has joint pain and swelling in both elbows and her left wrist….
(Reuters)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday it has asked Endo International to withdraw from the market its long-lasting opioid painkiller Opana ER, sending the company’s shares down as much as 13%. “After careful consideration, the agency is seeking removal based on its concern that the benefits of the drug may no longer…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Immunosuppressants and anti-TNF drugs do not appear to increase the risk of extracolonic cancers in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), researchers from Spain report. IBD patients face an increased risk of colon cancer, and some studies have suggested there might be an increased risk of extracolonic cancer. Dr. Maria Chaparro from…
BOSTON (Reuters)—A growing number of U.S. states, counties and cities are filing lawsuits accusing drug companies of deceptively marketing opioid painkillers to downplay their addictiveness, but some lawyers say the industry’s highly regulated nature could pose a hurdle to their success. Ohio on Wednesday became the latest, and largest, state or local government to bring…