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Articles tagged with "Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)"

Menopause Linked with Functional Decline in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Scott Baltic  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—In women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), menopause is associated with both functional decline and an acceleration of that decline, according to a longitudinal study from the U.S. However, several factors involving increased hormonal exposure were associated with less-severe functional decline in women with RA: ever having received hormonal replacement therapy (HRT), ever…

Is It Cold in Here? Working in Cold Environments Linked to RA

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Novel research has linked cold environments—with snow, ice and overall frigid conditions—to an increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. This research has many rheumatologists eager for more research that could aid patients and further the understanding of the disease…

Service Dogs Aid RA Patients with Mobility, Chores, Companionship & More

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Patients with severe RA can struggle with walking, getting dressed, carrying items and more, all of which can negatively affect their quality of life. But according to Bharat Kumar, MD, service dogs can help RA patients by providing both physical and emotional support, aiding patient mobility and quality of life…

Rheumatoid Arthritis May Confer Higher Cardiac & Infection Risks

Lorraine L. Janeczko  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at increased risk of serious infections, myocardial infarction (MI) and coronary heart disease (CHD), an analysis of Medicare claims data suggests. “Higher disease activity as measured by a panel of biomarkers was associated with higher rates of hospitalized infections, MI and CHD events. These findings add…

The Diagnosis: How to Advise Newly Diagnosed RA Patients

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Receiving an RA diagnosis may be emotional and difficult for patients. By engaging the patient in learning about the disease and its treatment options, as well as cultivating a communicative relationship, rheumatologists can truly help a patient take control of their health…

Biosimilar SB2 May Work as Well as Infliximab for Rheumatoid Arthritis

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In a 78-week study examining the interchangeability of infliximab with the biosimilar SB2, the treatments demonstrated long-term efficacy, safety and immunogenicity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Across all the study’s treatment groups, patients had similar treatment response rates, and the long-term clinical profile of SB2 was comparable with infliximab…

Update on ACR’s Rheumatology-Specific APM

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Efforts by the ACR to develop a rheumatology-specific alternative payment model (APM) are well under way. The first draft proposal was approved by the ACR Board of Directors in November and presented to the rheumatology community during the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in San Diego. The ACR is pursuing the development of a rheumatology-specific APM…

Pedometers & RA: Does Increasing Physical Activity Decrease Fatigue?

Arthritis Care & Research  |  

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…

Weight Change in Early RA & the Risk of Mortality

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Sparks et al set out to investigate whether weight change during the early RA period is associated with subsequent mortality and to evaluate whether there is an RA-specific effect. They investigated weight change during the early RA period, because this is the window of time during which weight change is most likely to be related to RA-specific processes. They found that severe weight loss during the early RA period was associated with a subsequent increased mortality risk both for women with and without RA…