Recognizing that gaps often occur in the transition process for young adults as they transition from pediatric to adult healthcare, in particular for youth with special healthcare needs, the American College of Physicians’ (ACP’s) Council of Subspecialty Societies (CSS), of which the ACR is a member, initiated a project and engaged several medical specialty organizations…
(Reuters)—Mesoblast Ltd. on Monday said its experimental stem-cell treatment led to significant improvements of symptoms and disease activity in patients whose rheumatoid arthritis had stopped being helped by widely used biotech medicines, according to data from a mid-stage trial. Treatment with the Australian company’s mesenchymal precursor cell (MPC) product, MPC-300-IV, was deemed well tolerated with…
A recent study documented blood transcriptional profiles in pediatric patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), finding that plasmablast signatures were the most robust biomarker of SLE disease activity. Researchers were further able to stratify patients into groups on the basis of molecular correlates, which may aid in personalizing SLE treatment and identifying biomarkers that can predict occurrence and frequency of flares…
(Reuters Health)—People who feel ill after eating wheat, but who don’t have celiac disease, may finally have a biological explanation for their symptoms, a new study suggests. Researchers from the U.S. and Italy found that people who claim to have wheat sensitivity do have biological reactions to gluten proteins in wheat, rye and barley. It’s…
Researchers have developed procedures and assessed their efficacy for the use of ultrasound images to measure the inter-rater reliability of the measurement of structural changes in the tendon of patients with supraspinatus tendinopathy. The standardized procedures proved useful in evaluating patients…
Psoriatic arthritis (PsA), a chronic inflammatory arthritis characterized by structural damage to the joints, has been associated with reduced health-related quality of life, disability and reduced life expectancy. The joint changes in PsA are characterized radiographically by a combination of erosive and proliferative bone changes, including erosive joint destruction, fluffy periostitis and pencil-in-cup deformities. Radiographic…
The FDA is strengthening its warning that canagliflozin and dapagliflozin may increase the risk for acute kidney injury in some patients. Also, the FDA has issued a warning that patients should not exceed recommended doses of loperamide due to increased risks of serious cardiac events…
Through the use of large-scale transcriptome analysis, researchers have gained insight into the role of innate immunity in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) pathology. Specifically, transcriptomes of neutrophils in chronic inflammatory states demonstrate extensive network rewiring caused by microRNA, suggesting a role for alternative splicing in JIA pathogenesis…
(Reuters Health)—Women with osteoporosis who take bisphosphonates to help avoid fractures still need to have their bone density monitored, a Canadian study suggests. Researchers who studied more than 6,600 women taking osteoporosis drugs found that for nearly one in five, bone mineral density at the hip actually decreased after the women started taking the medication….
A new study found that measuring the presence of additional antibodies specific for Domain I (aDI) of β2-glycoprotein (β2GPI) may improve the diagnosis of antiphospholipid syndrome. Based on their findings, researchers conclude that aDI tests may be a useful addition to, but not a replacement for, standard aβ2GPI tests…