NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Tocilizumab improves remission rates and slows disease progression in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a new randomized controlled trial demonstrates. Tocilizumab was effective both on its own and when combined with methotrexate, Dr. Gerd R. Burmester of Charite Medical University of Berlin and his colleagues found. Tocilizumab, an interleukin-6 (IL-6) blocker,…
2015 ACR Guideline for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis Now Available
The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) announced the availability of its 2015 Guideline for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) during the 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in San Francisco. An early draft of the recommendations was presented at last year’s meeting in Boston, and the final recommendations are now available on the ACR website. The…
NIH Director Addresses Gathering of Experts on Autoimmune Diseases
NIH Director Francis Collins, MD, PhD, is working to improve funding for research into new treatments for lupus and RA through the Accelerating Medicines Partnership, a coalition of private and public partners identifying and validating promising biological targets for therapeutics…
RA Patients on DMARDs Have Higher Risk of Infection
Preventing infection in patients with RA should be a consideration for rheumatologists prescribing disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs after a Swedish study found patients on these therapies have a 6.1% risk of developing serious infection.
Online Tool Helps RA Patients Make Informed Decisions
Should you escalate care to a biologic? Many RA patients find this decision difficult and may need extra support and education to come to an informed decision. A recent study on this issue tested the value of a Web-based interactive decision support tool, which was developed with patient and physician input. After eight weeks, patients using the tool showed a measurable increase in the objective and subjective knowledge needed for making an informed decision compared with standard care…
CD64 May Be an RA-Specific Biomarker
A new study found patients with early RA had increased membrane and soluble CD64. After receiving anti-rheumatic therapy, patients’ symptoms and CD64 levels decreased, suggesting CD64 is an RA biomarker…
Musculoskeletal Ultrasound: A Valuable Tool for Diagnosing Rheumatic Illnesses
Musculoskeletal (MSK) ultrasound is a valuable imaging modality for the practicing rheumatologist and provides an efficient tool with high diagnostic value in the evaluation of patients with musculoskeletal complaints. The use of MSK ultrasound has evolved in the U.S. due to the emergence of less-expensive, portable ultrasound units, which provide high-quality gray-scale and power Doppler…
Arthritis Power App Can Help Patients Monitor Symptoms, Improve Office Visits
For the past 16 years, the website, creakyjoints.org, founded by arthritis patient Seth Ginsberg and social entrepreneur Louis Tharp, has offered arthritis patients and their families a safe online community where they can receive meaningful support and education. In March, the online portal added a new initiative—Arthritis Power, the first-ever patient-led, patient-generated, app-based research registry…
Rheumatologists Share Research, Successes at Annual Investigators’ Meeting
“Each project adds new knowledge that brings us a little closer to the cure,” Joan Bathon, MD, of Columbia University Medical Center, says of the Rheumatology Research Foundation’s 8th Annual Investigators’ Meeting in San Diego. Dr. Bathon was one of more than 30 investigators who presented the latest progress on research funded by the Foundation’s…
Rheumatologist Nathan Wei, MD, Focuses on Alternatives to Surgery for Athletes
Nathan Wei, MD, FACP, FACR, admits that he didn’t exactly agree with the amount certain things were encouraged in his family. “Aspects such as academics and music were focused on so much,” he says. “I wanted to break out from that upbringing. I wanted to add in more of what I wanted to do.” And…
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