Exclusive: ACR Convergence 2024| Focus Rheums

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

Articles by Natasha Yetman

Osteoporosis Drugs Don’t Reduce Overall Mortality

Megan Brooks  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Anti-fracture medications do not reduce overall mortality in older patients with osteoporosis, according to an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. “This meta-analysis suggests drug treatments, including treatment with bisphosphonates, for osteoporosis should be recommended only for the prevention of fracture and not for any additional reduction in mortality,” researchers write in JAMA…

Trump Administration to Appeal Ruling Blocking Price Disclosure for Drug Ads

Carl O'Donnell  |  

(Reuters)—The Trump administration is appealing a court ruling that struck down its plan to compel pharmaceutical companies to disclose wholesale prices of their drugs in televisions advertisements. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) filed a notice of appeal on Wednesday, as it prepares to challenge the July federal court ruling. “If the…

Shingles Vaccine Not the Only Immunization Linked with Gout Flare

Marilynn Larkin  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—The recombinant shingles vaccine (RZV) is associated with an increased risk of gout flare, and a new study suggests other vaccines may trigger flares as well, researchers say. “Our findings are novel because for the first time, we have identified a trigger for gout flares that presumably acts through [an inflammatory] pathway,…

FDA Approves AbbVie’s New Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug

Reuters Staff  |  

(Reuters)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday approved AbbVie Inc.’s new treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a win for the drugmaker seeking to widen its portfolio as its blockbuster flagship therapy Humira (adalimumab)‎‎ faces competition. The drug, Rinvoq (upadacitinib), is a JAK inhibitor. It is set to compete with Pfizer Inc.’s Xeljanz (tofacitinib)…

Amgen Wins U.S. Patent Battle on Arthritis Drug Enbrel

Deena Beasley  |  

(Reuters)—A U.S. judge on Friday upheld two patents relating to Amgen Inc,’s blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel (etanercept), denying a challenge by Novartis AG, which is seeking to launch a biosimilar version. The decision was a relief to investors concerned about a competitive threat to Enbrel, which had U.S. sales of $4.8 billion last year….

Professional Coaching Can Contribute to Physician Well-Being

Will Boggs, MD  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Professional coaching can improve the well-being and reduce the distress of physicians, researchers have found. “With over 40% of physicians having substantial symptoms of burnout, professional coaching is one strategy that should be offered to help them recover,” Liselotte N. Dyrbye, MD, MHPE, from Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Mn., tells Reuters Health by…

Drug Assistance Programs Offer Little Charity to Uninsured

Lisa Rapaport  |  

(Reuters Health)—Many patients who receive assistance from charities set up to defray prescription drugs costs may already have insurance that covers most the cost for their medications, a U.S. study suggests. Researchers examined data on the six largest independent charities offering patient assistance programs through 274 different disease-specific programs. These programs had total revenue ranging…

Medical Professionals Link the Word ‘Career’ with Men

Tamara Mathias  |  

(Reuters Health)—Researchers who examined implicit and explicit gender biases in the U.S. medical community found professionals of both genders are more likely to associate the word career with men and the word family with women. And U.S. surgeons broadly see surgery as a man’s career and family medicine as a woman’s field, the researchers also…

Mindfulness-Based Therapy Improves Function in Fibromyalgia

Reuters Staff  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is more effective than treatment as usual for improving function and other outcomes in patients with fibromyalgia, according to a new randomized trial. MBSR is an extension of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) intended to help patients change the way they experience symptoms, Dr. Albert Feliu-Soler of the Institut de…