The approach of under-treating rheumatic disease in pregnant patients is changing, according to Bonnie Lee Bermas, MD. Dr. Bermas discusses with The Rheumatologist the need for more research on how drugs affect this patient group, and how timing of conception and disease stability play important roles in the safe outcomes of mother and infant…
NEW YORK (Reuters)—Spending on prescription drugs is projected to have risen to $457 billion in 2015 and will likely continue to grow as a percentage of overall healthcare spending, a U.S. government health agency said on Tuesday. That is an increase of about 8% from 2014’s prescription drug spending, which is also an estimated figure,…
(Reuters Health)—Just because a health app has a privacy policy doesn’t mean the data will remain private, an analysis of mobile tools for diabetes suggests. In fact, privacy policies appear rare, and when they do exist, most state that user data will be collected and half warn that medical information will be shared with third…
Future rheumatology-specific research should focus on the definition of new therapeutic targets, improving the understanding of existing therapies, engaging patients in their care and more, according to a recent assessment by the ACR’s Committee on Research…
The ACR has continued its advocacy to ensure the safe adoption of biosimilars in the U.S., most recently addressing an FDA public hearing. Also, the FDA has approved tofacitinib for RA, and a clinical trial of romosozumab for patients with osteoporosis met its primary endpoint…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Routine osteoporosis screening in men is a good value and effective based on a cost-effectiveness model, researchers say. “Osteoporosis is not just a disease for women. Osteoporosis affects many men (approximately 2 million in the U.S.), with significant morbidity, mortality, and costs that are projected to rise with the aging of the…
(Reuters Health)—Patients give the same doctors different ratings depending on where their visit took place, according to a small U.S. study. Although doctors might act differently in an emergency department compared with a calmer office setting, researchers say the results also suggest that ratings are not a completely reliable measure of the quality of care…
LONDON (Reuters)—European regulators launched a new scheme on Monday to speed the approval of promising new drugs that address unmet medical needs by offering enhanced support to medicine developers as they work on clinical trials. The European Medicines Agency‘s (EMA) initiative called PRIME, which stands for PRIority MEdicines, is the latest example of regulators on…
In a large-scale study, researchers demonstrated that the use of bisphosphonates in postmenopausal women is associated with an increased risk of carpal tunnel syndrome, in addition to other known risks (e.g., incapacitating bone, joint and/or musculoskeletal pain, and osteonecrosis of the jaw)…
Research by Dr. Anthony Rosen, MD, and colleagues found a link between cancer and scleroderma, suggesting the immune system may edit cancer cells. In an interview with The Rheumatologist, Dr. Rosen explores the meaning of this finding and its potential…