A recent small-scale study showed that patients who received platelet-rich plasma therapy for tendon healing experienced clinically important improvements in pain and disability compared with placebo. Additionally, MRI showed that some participants had improvement in the pathoanatomy of the rotator cuff six months after treatment…
SAN FRANCISCO—To convey the plight of rheumatology patients in sub-Saharan Africa, Girish Mody, MD, head of rheumatology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and past president of the African League of Associations for Rheumatology, recounted a story during the 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting from the World Health Organization about a diabetes patient. The…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Sifalimumab, an anti-interferon alpha monoclonal antibody, may lead to some improvement in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), according to a new trial. In a paper online on March 23 in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, Dr. Munther Khamashta of King’s College London and colleagues note that treatment of SLE presents a…
The human intestinal microbiota is home to more than 1,000 bacterial species, containing approximately 3 million genes, many of which code for functions that have the potential to affect human physiology.1 Smaller numbers of organisms are also present in the skin, upper gastrointestinal tract, female reproductive tract and the oro- and nasopharynx. As tools have…
Mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while acknowledging and non-judgmentally accepting one’s feelings, thoughts and bodily sensations. Known in Sanskrit as smrti, meaning “to remember,” in Pali, the language of early Buddhist scriptures, it is recognized by the word sati (mindfulness).1 Derived from ancient meditative Buddhist disciplines,…
Arthritis is the primary cause of disability among U.S. military veterans and the second most common reason for medical discharge from the U.S. Army. One in three veterans is diagnosed with arthritis, compared with one in five members of the general U.S. population. It is important to keep in mind that these statistics reflect only…
The microbiome comprises diverse microbial flora, including bacteria, viruses and fungi, that live on mucosal surfaces, predominantly the skin and digestive tract. Microbes evolved billions of years prior to the development of modern Homo sapiens 200,000 years ago; we have always existed with their ubiquitous presence. Despite this, the first microbe was not visualized until…
Editor’s note: In this recurring feature, we first present a series of images (this page) for your review, and then a brief discussion of the findings and diagnosis. Before you turn to the discussion, examine these images carefully and draw your own conclusions. History A 49-year-old woman presents with one year of chronic left ankle…
Radiographic imaging showed circumferential soft tissue swelling of the ankle with a soft-tissue density seen in the tibiotalar and posterior subtalar joints, as well as a large, lobulated effusion. MRI of the left ankle shows cystic changes within the talus and first cuneiform bones, as well as a lobulated abnormal soft tissue density with low…
Subjectivity and the differences in how patients with autoimmune and other diseases perceive pain make the study and treatment of pain difficult. But Yvonne Lee, MD, says future advances in neuroimaging may aid in the objective study of pain and innovative treatments…