During an international summit, physicians and researchers discussed the key clinical and research aspects of the complex intersection between connective tissue diseases and interstitial lung disease (ILD), proposing initiatives to raise awareness and conduct research to better serve patients with autoimmune forms of ILD…
(Reuters Health)—Patients who have real-time video visits with their primary care providers instead of in-person exams are generally satisfied with the convenience and quality of their checkups, a new study suggests. There’s a lot about these telemedicine visits that can sound appealing: no need to get stuck in traffic on the way to the doctor;…
LONDON (Reuters)—Scientists in the U.S. say they have taken a step toward developing a possible diagnostic test for chronic fatigue syndrome, a condition characterized by exhaustion and other debilitating symptoms. Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine say a pilot study of 40 people, half of whom were healthy and half of whom had the…
(Reuters Health)—Over a typical 24-hour shift, first year residents training in internal medicine spend just three hours on direct patient care and only 1.8 hours on education, a U.S. study suggests. Most of their time—an average of 15.9 hours out of every 24-hour shift—is consumed instead by “indirect patient care,” primarily involving interactions with medical…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—A large population-based study from the U.K. provides more evidence that some autoimmune liver diseases may be triggered by exposure to something in the environment. The study found a significant clustering of cases of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) in well-defined regions of north-east England…
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The U.S. Supreme Court has cast aside pharmaceutical company Allergan Plc.’s unorthodox bid to shield patents from a federal administrative court’s review by transferring them to a Native American tribe. The justices left in place a lower court ruling upholding the authority of a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office tribunal to decide the validity…
(Reuters)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it has approved Amgen’s osteoporosis treatment for postmenopausal women who are at high risk of fracture. Evenity (romosozumab-aqqg), developed jointly with Belgium-based UCB SA, helps reduce the risk of fracture by increasing bone mass and mildly inhibiting the break down of bone minerals. Romosozumab-aqqg belongs to a new…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—In patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, the incidence of atrial fibrillation and major adverse cardiovascular events does not differ between treatment with ustekinumab and TNF inhibitors, according to a large observational study. “Given a high cardiovascular risk among patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis,” Seoyoung C. Kim, MD, ScD, MSCE, told…
Rheumatology has historically been a less common career choice than other internal medicine subspecialties, but that may be changing…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—About 15% of women who develop carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) while pregnant will suffer persistent and worsening symptoms long after delivery, a new study suggests. “Conventional medical wisdom has been that gestational carpal tunnel syndrome simply goes away after pregnancy, and for many women this is true. However, in our practice this…