All rheumatologists have observed the impact of their patients’ mental health status on the long-term treatment of rheumatologic conditions. Depression, anxiety and even loneliness can lead to poor clinical outcomes and nonadherence to treatment, whether the patient is following medication regimens or participating in regular exercise. On the other hand, a patient’s resilience and positive…
Mysterious Ways The juxtaposition of the old and the new was readily evident that busy Wednesday morning. My first patient, a 94-year-old gentleman, Hal, arrived with a precise request. His rheumatologist for the past 40 years had just retired, and he was searching for a doctor with expertise in the use of gold sodium aurothioglucose,…
Anemia is common in patients with systemic rheumatic disease, yet it may not get the attention it deserves. Anemia can result from chronic inflammation, treatment side effects or other disease factors, or it may signal an unrelated condition. Although diagnosis and treatment of anemia are sometimes challenging, clinicians must do their utmost to rigorously investigate…
SAN DIEGO—The proposed classification criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), supported but not yet approved by the ACR and EULAR, were debuted on Nov. 7 at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting. An international steering committee developed and validated the criteria, with patient input and the consensus of more than 150 global SLE experts. Rheumatology researchers…
This year, Selena Gomez underwent a kidney transplant as a result of damage from living with lupus. But how can this celebrity story aid rheumatologists? Many see it as an opportunity to raise awareness or create a dialogue with primary care physicians. But for lupus patients, it can be a reminder for them to take control of their own wellbeing, according to rheumatologist Susan Manzi, MD, MPH…
(Reuters Health)— Postmenopausal women should not use hormone therapy to prevent chronic medical conditions, because the risk of significant side effects outweighs the unclear evidence of a benefit, according to a government-backed panel of experts. Most chronic conditions – coronary heart disease, dementia, stroke, fractures, and breast cancer, for example – are more common with…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Vitamin D-metabolite ratio (VMR) may be a better marker of bone health than 25(OH)D (25-hydroxyvitamin D), a new study suggests. “The parameter that’s currently used to assess vitamin D status, 25(OH)D, is a flawed measure because it doesn’t consistently associate with important bone outcomes like hip fractures,” Dr. Charles Ginsberg of Veterans…
(Reuters Health)—Patients who live in low-income communities and lack a college education may have worse pain after knee replacement surgery than their more educated neighbors, a recent study suggests. Two years after total knee replacement surgeries, patients in poor communities who hadn’t gone to college had average pain scores that were about 10 points worse…
The introduction of biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) has greatly expanded the treatment options for managing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In many patients, biologic DMARDs improve clinical symptoms, improve function and slow disease progression. Biologic DMARDs are recommended as add-on treatment to conventional synthetic DMARDs, such as methotrexate (MTX) in patients who experienced an incomplete response…
A recent study suggests novel markers of dry eye disease can be found in the lacrimal fluid and tear fluid of patients. Researchers analyzed the proteins in these fluids and found immune response-related proteins are upregulated at the protein level in lacrimal fluid of patients with dry eye disease and may be an important biomarker…