Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of the most common autoimmune diseases. One hypothesis is that inflammation in the respiratory tract results in autoantibody formation that later leads to disease. Kronzer et al. set out to narrow the knowledge gaps related to the oral-respiratory factors that may mediate RA pathogenesis.
Cyclophosphamide for Connective Tissue Disease-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease
A recent systematic review found no clear evidence that rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with cyclophosphamide have better lung function than those treated with mycophenolate mofetil. The researchers caution that physicians should expect treatment with cyclophosphamide may only result in a modest improvement in the preservation of forced vital capacity…
What Our Colleagues Should Know: Integrated Care for the Lungs
Multi-system diseases have unique challenges. And Dr. Aryeh Fischer says that when treating patients with interstitial lung disease, pulmonologists and rheumatologists must better understand “how we [both] approach our shared diseases.”
Heparin Fails to Prevent Leg, Lung Clots After Arthroscopy, Casting
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Low-molecular-weight heparin failed to prevent symptomatic venous thromboemboli in people receiving knee arthroscopy or a lower leg cast, according to a pair of studies conducted in the Netherlands. The treatment is controversial because there is little clear evidence that heparin wards off clots in such instances. The research team, led by Dr. Raymond…
What Listening to Lungs Might Teach About Rheumatic Disease
One of your first clinical assignments as a medical student was likely to have been the lung exam. Its key descriptors may still resonate in your mind: inspection, palpation, percussion and auscultation. Proudly parading down the hospital corridors, your newly purchased stethoscope snugly tucked inside your lab coat pocket, you carefully place its cold metal…