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

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…

Fibromyalgia & Bipolar Spectrum Disorder: A Shared Pathophysiology May Lead to Better Drug Targets

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Patients suffering from fibromyalgia and those suffering from bipolar spectrum disorder experience similar symptoms. Research suggests that these diseases may share a pathophysiological process, particularly a similar impairment in the prefrontal-limbic networks of the brain. A new editorial addresses how a better understanding of the potential shared biological underpinning of these diseases could result in unique drug targets…

U.S. Agency Issues New Guidelines to Limit Chronic Use of Opioids

Ransdell Pierson  |  

(Reuters)—Addressing a growing “epidemic” of opioid overdoses and abuse of the prescribed painkillers in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday released voluntary guidelines that instruct primary care doctors to sharply deter use of the medicines for chronic pain. “Overprescribing opioids, largely for chronic pain, is a key driver of America’s…

Psoriasis Drug Succeeds in Mid-Stage Study

Reuters Staff  |  

(Reuters)—Drug developer Vitae Pharmaceuticals Inc. said its experimental psoriasis drug significantly reduced the skin condition in patients from a mid-stage trial, sending its shares up 70% in after-hours trading. Patients taking a 350 mg dose of the drug, VTP-43742, showed a 24% reduction, while patients who took the 700 mg dose showed a 30% reduction…

Johnson & Johnson Hit with $500 Million Verdict in Trial over Hip Implants

Jessica Dye  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters)—Johnson & Johnson and its DePuy unit were ordered by a Texas federal jury on Thursday to pay a total of about $500 million to five plaintiffs who said they were injured by Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip implants. Following a two-month trial, jurors found that the Pinnacle hips were defectively designed, and that the…

Smartphones Not So Smart with Urgent Medical Questions

Lisa Rapaport  |  

(Reuters Health)—Smartphones are the first thing many people turn to with questions about their health. But when it comes to urgent queries about issues like suicide, rape and heart attack, phones can be pretty bad at offering good medical advice, a new study suggests. Researchers tested four commonly used conversation agents that respond to users’…