Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is rarely associated with renal manifestations, but secondary amyloidosis due to chronic inflammation is reported to be the etiology of renal dysfunction in many cases of RA.1,2 The discovery of biologic therapy, with TNF-alpha inhibitors in particular, made a huge difference in the disease course and prognosis of RA patients. However, TNF-alpha…
Etanercept Submitted for Chronic, Severe Plaque Psoriasis in Children The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the supplemental Biologics License Application for etanercept (Enbrel) for treating pediatric patients with chronic, severe plaque psoriasis.1 The application was submitted in early January 2016 and is based on results of a one-year Phase 3 study with…
CHICAGO—Nine out of 10 scleroderma cases include clinical signs of gastrointestinal (GI) involvement, with severe involvement associated with high mortality rates, but the pathology of this is not very well understood, a GI expert said at the ACR’s State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium. That has left clinicians with a slate of treatments—anti-reflux, antimicrobials and prokinetics—that address only…
Forty-five years ago, a computer engineer in Boston sent an electronic message between two computers some 10 feet apart. It took another 10 years or so before the electronic mail message was dubbed email—a term now, perhaps, more ubiquitous than any other in the lexicon of modern communications. Despite the seemingly definitive place email communication…
A 67-year-old female patient with Medicare returns to the office for a follow-up of her age-related osteoporosis. She states she has an achy pain in her left hip that lasts for 30–40 minutes in the morning. Currently, she has taken ibandronate sodium and alendronate sodium for the past year, and her pain level is a…
More than 10 years ago, New York Times journalist Thomas Friedman opined an old-world perspective that the world is, in fact, flat. In an article published on April 3, 2005, Mr. Friedman contended that “Individuals must, and can, now ask: Where do I fit into the global competition and opportunities of the day, and how…
(Reuters Health)—Doctors in states that track painkiller prescriptions were nearly one-third less likely to offer patients dangerously addicting opioids, a new study found. The launch of drug-monitoring programs in 24 states led to an immediate 30 percent drop in prescriptions for Schedule II opioids, the most addictive, in patients with pain complaints, the study showed….
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are effective, but underused, in patients with early axial spondyloarthritis, researchers from France report. NSAIDs are the cornerstone of treatment of axial spondyloarthritis, but there is often a trade-off between prescribing doses high enough to decrease pain and other symptoms vs. keeping the doses low enough to decrease…
In a clinical trial, patients with osteoarthritis taking low-dose SoluMatrix meloxicam used less rescue medication to manage pain. Also, the FDA has issued a new warning against using oral ketoconazole off label to treat onychomycosis and fungal skin infections…
(Reuters)—The first-ever implant to fight addiction to opioids, a class of drugs that includes prescription painkillers and heroin, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday. The matchstick-sized implant, developed by Titan Pharmaceuticals Inc. and privately owned Braeburn Pharmaceuticals, is by design less susceptible to abuse or the illicit resale that plagues…