Exclusive: ACR Convergence 2024| Focus Rheums

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

U.S. Approves Digital Pill that Tracks When Patients Take It

Reuters Staff  |  

(Reuters)—U.S. regulators have approved the first digital pill with an embedded sensor to track if patients are taking their medication properly, marking a significant step forward in the convergence of healthcare and technology.1 The medicine is a version of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co Ltd’s established drug Abilify for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression, containing a tracking…

Trump to Tap Ex-Pharma Executive Azar as U.S. Health Secretary

Reuters Staff  |  

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—President Donald Trump on Monday said he will nominate former pharmaceutical executive and industry lobbyist Alex Azar to serve as U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, saying Azar would push to lower the price of medicines. If confirmed, Azar also would take the lead in implementing Trump’s campaign promise to dismantle the Affordable Care…

Psoriasis Tied to Higher Risk of Serious Liver Disease

Lisa Rapaport  |  

(Reuters Health)—People with chronic inflammatory disorders, such as psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), may have an increased risk of developing serious liver damage, a recent study suggests. These inflammatory disorders are often treated with methotrexate, a medication linked to an increased risk of liver disease. For the current study, researchers followed more than 1 million…

Heated Gloves Provide Relief from Hand Pain, Dysfunction in Diffuse Systemic Sclerosis

Rosemarie A. Curley, MPT, DPT  |  

Raynaud’s phenomenon in scleroderma or systemic sclerosis (SSc) is associated with significant discomfort and functional disability, especially in the presence of digital ulcers.1 Having lived with diffuse systemic sclerosis (dSSc) for nearly a decade, I can attest to this. It has been my experience that the hand pain and dysfunction in dSSc stems from Raynaud’s…

Rheumatology Case Report: TINU Syndrome with Concomitant Synovitis

Ambreesh Chawla, MD, David Benderson, MD, Mikhail Kotlov, MD, Evan Leibowitz, MD, & Ashraf Raslan, MD  |  

Tubulointerstitial nephritis and uveitis (TINU) syndrome, also known as Dobrin syndrome, is a rare oculo-renal inflammatory disease. It was first described in 1975 by American physician Robert Dobrin, MD.1 It manifests as acute interstitial nephritis and bilateral uveitis. In addition, patients often experience nonspecific systemic findings, such as fever, weight loss, malaise, myalgia and arthralgia. TINU…

Rheumatologist’s Ping-Pong Prowess Sharpens His Skills with Patients

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Roughly 15 years ago, Steven K. Magid, MD, rheumatologist and chief medical information officer at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in N.Y., attended a social event for hospital employees. While chatting with other physicians, nurses, and lab techs, he watched one of his colleagues slaughter her opponents at Ping-Pong. “She was very skilled,” recalls Dr. Magid,…

Rheumatology Drug Updates: Efficacy Studied Following Accelerated Drug Approvals; Plus Secukinumab Meets Benchmark for Psoriasis

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Medications for serious or life-threatening conditions may receive accelerated approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by showing an effect on surrogate measures that are reasonably likely to predict a treatment’s clinical benefit. Post-approval confirmatory drug trials are then required to determine whether or not these effects translate into clinical improvements. In recent…