NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Screening for celiac disease (CD) is important in patients newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and in children presenting for rheumatology evaluation, according to a pair of new reports. In a systematic review, online June 15 in Pediatrics, Australian researchers found most cases of CD are diagnosed within five years of…
Articles by Natasha Yetman
Ultrasound-Defined Tenosynovitis Beats Signs, Symptoms for Spotting Early RA
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Ultrasound-defined tenosynovitis (TS) is a strong predictor of early rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to new findings presented at the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) Annual Congress in Rome. Patients with TS of the extensor carpi ulnaris (ECU) tendons or the finger flexor tendons were more than six times as likely to be…
Public Rarely Knows Why FDA Rejects New Drugs
(Reuters Health)—Drug companies generally don’t disclose all the reasons new medicines fail to win U.S. marketing approval, even though regulators often reject treatments over concerns about safety or effectiveness, a study finds. Researchers compared the details companies made public in press releases with confidential documents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration known as complete…
Knee Osteoarthritis Pain Worse with Insomnia
(Reuters Health)—People suffering from osteoarthritis, the most common type of joint inflammation, are more likely to have knee pain when they also have difficulty getting enough sleep, a study suggests. Researchers found that people with knee osteoarthritis and insomnia were also more likely to suffer from a nervous system disorder called “central sensitization” that makes…
Most Americans Want Congress to Ensure Obamacare Subsidies
(Reuters)—A majority of Americans say Congress should make sure Obamacare subsidies to buy health insurance are available nationwide if the Supreme Court rules that the payments in at least 34 states are illegal, according to a poll released on Tuesday. The Kaiser Family Foundation poll surveyed 1,200 people from June 2 to June 9 in…
Increased Risk of Serious Infections During Early Anti-TNF Treatment
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—The risk of serious infections increases in the early months of anti-TNF treatment for inflammatory bowel disease, researchers from Denmark report. “The pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha plays an important role in the immune system and therefore it is biologically plausible that TNF-alpha inhibitors may increase the risk of infections,” said Dr. Nynne Nyboe…
Tofacitinib Effective for Treating Moderate-to-Severe Chronic Plaque Psoriasis
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Tofacitinib is better than placebo (and noninferior to etanercept) for treating patients with moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis, according to Pfizer’s OPT Compare trial. In an earlier 12-week, phase 2b, dose-ranging trial, the oral JAK inhibitor tofacitinib proved to be more effective than placebo for treating patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Based on…
Many U.S. Hospitals Mark Up Prices 1,000%
NEW YORK (Reuters)—Even the astronomical price markups that consumers regularly pay for, say, wine in restaurants pale beside those in some U.S. hospitals: The price for procedures is often 10 times the cost, according to a study published Monday in the journal Health Affairs. Of the 50 hospitals with the highest markups, 49 are for-profit,…
Medical Data, Cybercriminals’ Holy Grail, Now Espionage Target
SINGAPORE (Reuters)—Whoever was behind the latest theft of personal data from U.S. government computers, they appear to be following a new trend set by cybercriminals: targeting increasingly valuable medical records and personnel files. This data, experts say, is worth a lot more to cybercriminals than, say, credit card information. And the Office of Personnel Management…
U.S. NIH Drug Facility Suspended after Contamination Found
(Reuters)—The National Institutes of Health said on Thursday it had suspended operations of a facility that makes products used for clinical research after the discovery of fungal contamination in two vials of albumin. Vials made from the same batch of albumin had been administered to six patients, though it is not known if those were…