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

Original Sin—Researchers Look for Infectious Triggers of Rheumatic Disease & the Best Options to Block the Process

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SAN FRANCISCO—Two hundred years ago, physicians knew nothing about what caused various forms of arthritis. Today, we have more clues about what may trigger rheumatic diseases, but still can’t pinpoint the culprits that set scores of inflammatory conditions in motion. Researchers discussed some of the background and recent findings that point to what immunologists call…

U.S. Signs Up 8.2 Million People for Insurance on HealthCare.gov

Reuters Staff  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters)—The U.S. government signed up 8.2 million people for health insurance through the HealthCare.gov website through Dec. 19, including 2.1 million people from the insurers’ most sought-after demographic: those aged under 35, according to the top health official. That compares with the 6.4 million people who signed up or were automatically signed up…

New Blood Thinner ‘Antidote’ to Help Doctors Move Past Warfarin

Bill Berkrot  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters)—A new class of blood thinners that competes with widely used warfarin should get a boost next year when an “antidote” that can reverse the medications’ effects in an emergency is expected to enter the market, according to top U.S. heart doctors and investors. Xarelto, from Bayer AG and Johnson & Johnson, and…

More Evidence Biomarkers Predict RA Relapse with DMARD Taper

Megan Brooks  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—For rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in stable remission, a panel of inflammatory markers in blood can help predict the odds of relapse when disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) therapy is tapered, say researchers from Germany. The multibiomarker disease activity (MBDA) score, when combined with anticitrullinated protein antibody (ACPA) testing, can predict relapse in…

People with Schizophrenia at Higher Risk of Osteoporosis

David Douglas  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Pooled data indicate that bone mineral density (BMD) is significantly lower in patients with schizophrenia than in healthy controls, according to Taiwanese researchers. Dr. Ping-Tao Tseng tells Reuters Health by email that the “evidence indicates the importance of further screening for the risk of osteoporosis in young-aged schizophrenic patients . . ….

Methotrexate for Ulcerative Colitis Yields Mixed Results

Larry Hand  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Parenteral methotrexate was no better than placebo for achieving steroid-free remission of ulcerative colitis (UC) in the METEOR trial. But the drug should not be abandoned in all UC patients, researchers say. “Although METEOR failed to reach its primary endpoint, an important secondary endpoint was met. Our study suggests that methotrexate should…

The Lupus Initiative Launches Cohorts & Partnerships to Reduce Health Disparities & Improve Outcomes

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The Lupus Initiative (TLI) of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) continues its work to reduce the health disparities for people with lupus through multiple, national-level, grant-funded projects, targeting primary care physicians with lupus education to increase appropriate rheumatology referrals and—when necessary, appropriate and effective—distance-managed care. Since 2009, the ACR has received funding through the…