Inflammation in the knee was found to be associated with development of pain sensitization in recent research with a cohort from the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study (MOST). This research finding may indicate that targeting of inflammation could help reduce pain severity in knee osteoarthritis (OA). Tuhina Neogi, MD, PhD, says that her and her colleagues’ research,…
A 50-year-old man with history of superficial bladder carcinoma presented to our rheumatology clinic for a three-year history of symmetric polyarthralgias. He had undergone multiple transurethral resection of bladder tumor procedures and bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG) treatments. Prior to receiving BCG, he was fully functional and employed. Days after receiving his second BCG treatment, he developed…
For people in whom symptoms of Lyme disease persist beyond the standard course of two to four weeks of antibiotic therapy, longer term antibiotic treatment provides no additional benefits beyond the shorter term course. This is the conclusion of a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that builds on a number…
Outside Exam Room No. 5, the chart rack was empty, so I assumed my new consult was late. Just in case, I looked back over my shoulder as I passed by the partially open door and glimpsed the lower half of a woman holding a three-ringed binder on her lap. I squinted and took a…
Pegloticase is a new alternative therapy for patients with severe, refractory gout unresponsive to other urate-lowering agents. The goal of this therapy is to reduce disease burden, tophi size and frequency of flares and to improve quality of life when other treatments have failed. Persistent lowering of plasma uric acid (PUA) to less than 6…
Ethical issues that arise in the average rheumatology practice and in clinical research are often straightforward. The AMA Code of Medical Ethics and the Office Practice and Procedures Manual offer useful information.1 In research, the Protocol and Investigators Agreement spells out who you can enroll and how the trial must be conducted. But still—even when…
When Abby Paterson, PhD, started her doctoral work in product design and technology at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom in 2009, she says 3D printing was little known by clinicians or the general public. Now, the technology is seemingly everywhere. For Dr. Paterson, the advancing science has led to a promising project focused on…
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…
CHICAGO—When it comes to treating patients with rheumatic diseases who are in the intensive care unit (ICU), there are so many complications and considerations that few rules exist as a guide. But Paul Dellaripa, MD, associate professor at Harvard Medical School, said at the ACR’s State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium that there are basic steps a rheumatologist…
Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. … The potential for greatness lives within each of us. —Wilma Rudolph, U.S. Olympic sprinter & winner of three gold medals From Spinnaker to Wheelchair It can be an unnerving experience when the patient you are about to see is young and…