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…
Articles by Natasha Yetman
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…
Biologic Drugs for Psoriasis Are Rarely Stopped for AEs
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Real-world psoriasis patients receiving biologic therapies rarely stop taking the drugs because of adverse effects, researchers say. Although data from long-term registries have shown similar results, “the demographics of patients in registries are somewhat different than those of patients in real-world practices,” Dr. Jensen Yeung told Reuters Health by email. “I have…
Medicare Paid Doctors $90 Billion in 2013, up 17%
NEW YORK (Reuters)—Medicare, the government-run health insurance program for elderly and disabled Americans, paid physicians $90 billion in 2013, up 17% from $77 billion in 2012, U.S. healthcare officials reported on Monday. Physician payments accounted for less than one-fifth of Medicare’s 2013 net outlays of $492 billion, which rose from $466 billion in 2012. Payments to…
Telemedicine Company Wins Order Putting Texas Remote Treatment Rule on Hold
(Reuters)—Patients in Texas can continue to receive remote diagnoses and treatment after telemedicine company Teladoc Inc won a preliminary court order blocking a new state rule requiring doctors to meet patients first. The ruling in Austin federal court on Friday came the same day that Teladoc filed its public registration with the U.S. Securities and…
Isometric Exercise May Immediately Reduce Pain of Patellar Tendinopathy
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Volleyball players with patellar tendinopathy reported an immediate easing of their pain after isometric exercise, and the effect persisted for 45 minutes after the intervention, a new study has found. In contrast, isotonic exercise appeared to diminish the athletes’ pain to a lesser degree, and the effect did not last at the…
Better Evidence Supports Slightly Revised Treat-to-Target Recommendations for RA
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—A number of recent studies support last year’s update of 2010 treat-to-target recommendations for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to the international task force that revised them. Dr. Josef S. Smolen from Medical University of Vienna, Austria, and colleagues updated their 2010 advice based on systematic literature reviews and expert opinion. They left…