Experts offered perspectives on how symptoms of rheumatic disease, such as fatigue, affect the physical, cognitive and emotional health of patients and offered solutions.
Duke Researchers Create a Type 1, Type 2 Lupus Disease Model
A new disease model for lupus tackles issues with fatigue and other serious conditions that, although quite common among patients, get less attention because they fall outside classic symptoms associated with inflammation, a debilitating force behind systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The model features subtypes to cateÂgorize two main groups of symptoms into type 1, typically…
Months After COVID-19 Infection, Rheumatic-Like Symptoms Persist
As more people get vaccinated for COVID-19, there’s hope that the long days of a pandemic, which has claimed more than 2.5 million lives globally and 500,000 in the U.S., will soon draw to a close and allow daily life to return to normal. However, for some people, this recovery may take longer, because the…
Clinicians Should Recommend Exercise More Often, Expert Says
ACR CONVERGENCE 2020—Research has shown time and again the benefits and low risk of physical activity for people with rheumatic diseases, but only a third or less of patients meet guidelines for this activity, Patricia Katz, PhD, professor of medicine and health policy at the University of California, San Francisco, said in the ARP Distinguished…
Duke Researchers Create a Type 1, Type 2 Lupus Disease Model
A new disease model for lupus tackles issues with fatigue and other serious conditions that, although quite common among patients, get less attention because they fall outside classic symptoms associated with inflammation, a debilitating force behind systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The model features subtypes to cateÂgorize two main groups of symptoms into type 1, typically…
How to Leverage Patient-Reported Outcomes to Improve Care for SLE Patients
A recent study reinforces the growing understanding that the fatigue many SLE patients experience should be considered a lupus symptom. Researchers found that using patient-reported outcomes to identify type 2 symptoms of SLE may improve patient communication, understanding and overall care…
Non-Pharmacological Interventions & Management of RA-Related Fatigue
Often, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients struggle with fatigue, and the cause of the fatigue remains unclear. Past research suggests RA-related fatigue may be moderately improved by physical activity. A recent narrative review supports these prior findings, noting that patients also benefit moderately from psychosocial interventions…
Study Finds Pedometers Reduce Fatigue in RA Patients
For people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), fatigue can be a debilitating symptom that interferes with daily life and significantly reduces quality of life. Managing fatigue can be difficult; it is linked to disease activity and a host of other conditions that commonly accompany RA, such as depression, sleep problems and obesity. A new study, however,…
Sleep Tips for RA Patients & Rheumatologists
A lack of quality sleep may exacerbate depression and pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to Michael R. Irwin, MD. Here are some tips for rheumatologists on how to discuss sleep with patients and help patients reduce sleep disturbance…
Pedometers & RA: Does Increasing Physical Activity Decrease Fatigue?
Recent research examined the effectiveness of a pedometer-based intervention for managing fatigue in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). During the 21-week trial, RA patients using pedometers successfully increased their physical activity, with a greater than 30% decrease in the proportion of participants classified as sedentary. Patients also decreased their reported fatigue, and some reported improvements in function, pain, depressive symptoms and disease activity levels…