Exclusive: ACR Convergence 2024| Focus Rheums

An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

Wise Transitions: Improving Pediatric–Adult Care

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Transitions in medical care can be high-risk periods due to the loss of continuity in care and worsening of medical conditions. Approximately one-quarter of the estimated 18 million adolescents aged 18–21 years in the U.S. have chronic conditions, including rheumatic diseases. Interventions in rheumatology practice can improve transition processes. Transition-readiness assessment tools and transition-satisfaction scales are available for use in rheumatology transition processes…

Mind-Body Therapy Helps Ease Chronic Low Back Pain

Andrew M. Seaman  |  

(Reuters Health)—Mind-based therapy programs may help ease chronic back pain, new research suggests. Patients who took part in such programs were more likely to have noticeable and lasting improvements in back pain than those who stuck to their usual routines, investigators found. Both of the approaches tested in the study—mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and cognitive…

Combination Therapy Bests Monotherapy in Severe Postmenopausal Osteoporosis

Rita Buckley  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—The combination of denosumab and teriparatide improves bone microarchitecture and estimated strength more than either drug alone in women with severe postmenopausal osteoporosis, researchers have found. Dr. Joy Tsai, from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues conducted a single-site, two-year, open-label, randomized controlled trial involving 94 women aged 45 or older…

U.S. FDA Approves Lilly’s Ixekizumab for Plaque Psoriasis

Reuters Staff  |  

(Reuters)—U.S. health regulators said on Tuesday they have approved a drug from Eli Lilly and Co. to treat adults with moderate to severe cases of plaque psoriasis. The injectable drug known chemically as ixekizumab will be sold under the brand name Taltz, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. Taltz works by blocking interleukein-17A, a…

Health Insurer Anthem Sues Express Scripts over Drug Pricing

Reuters Staff  |  

(Reuters)—Health insurer Anthem Inc. said it had sued pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts Holding Co. to recover damages from drug pricing it believes was too high. The lawsuit, filed on Monday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, is the latest development in a month’s long dispute over Anthem’s contract with…

Older Americans Taking More Medications

Andrew M. Seaman  |  

(Reuters Health)—The proportion of older Americans taking at least five medications or supplements went up in a recent study. The increase in people using multiple medications paralleled an increase in the number of older Americans at risk for major drug interactions, researchers found. “That’s a concern from a public health standpoint, because it’s getting worse,”…

FDA Says It Requires Boxed Warning on Some Opioid-Based Painkillers

Reuters Staff  |  

(Reuters)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced on Tuesday new required class-wide safety labeling changes for immediate-release opioid pain medications. Among the changes, the FDA now requires these pain medications to carry a new boxed warning about the serious risks of misuse, abuse, addiction, overdose and death. The FDA also requires several additional safety labeling…

Knowledge of Genetic Risk Doesn’t Prompt Behavior Changes

Kathryn Doyle  |  

(Reuters Health)—Telling patients about their genetic risk for disease doesn’t usually lead to healthy behavior changes, such as eating better or exercising more, according to a new analysis of existing studies. Researchers selected 18 studies that tracked seven potential behavior changes—such as quitting smoking, diet, physical activity and using sun protection—among people who had received…