CHICAGO—Scleroderma patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) might benefit from more aggressive therapy, an expert in the field said in a session on lung involvement in rheumatic diseases at the American College of Rheumatology’s 2015 State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium in May. Newer trials—the SERAPHIN trial on macitentan, GRIPHON on selexipag, and AMBITION on an ambrisentan/tadalafil combination—show…
In terms of getting our message heard in Washington, D.C., rheumatology faces a David vs. Goliath battle on several levels. Many industries have far greater resources, use multiple lobbying firms, and have advertising and lobbying budgets that eclipse ours by several hundred-fold. Rheumatology is far smaller than most other medical specialties; our membership is a…
On July 1, 2015, the Rheumatology Research Foundation awarded more than 80 grants to a wide range of rheumatology trainees and professionals. The recipients, who submitted applications in 2014, will receive funding for essential education and training, as well as innovative research projects. Their applications were closely examined by experts in different areas of the…
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The White House said on Wednesday it was open to working with Congress on a bill that would invest in disease research and would be paid for with sales of oil from U.S. emergency reserves. The House of Representatives is considering a bipartisan bill that would increase funding for the U.S. National Institutes of…
At the 2015 meeting of the European League Against Rheumatism in June, multiple studies were presented comparing the use of different biosimilar and biologic drugs in treating rheumatoid arthritis…
ATLANTA, Ga.—The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) today praised the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for issuing new guidance to provide a 12-month “safe harbor” period for physicians following the Oct. 1 implementation of the ICD-10 code set. The ACR has led legislative and grassroots efforts to responsibly address the transition to the…
A physiotherapy-specific, Web-based e-learning platform, “RAP-el,” was studied to determine its effectiveness in assisting physiotherapists with the best-practice management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It was shown to improve self-reported confidence, likely practice behaviors and satisfaction in physiotherapists’ ability to manage people with RA, and improve their clinical knowledge in several areas…
After completing a 10-year clinical trial examining treatment strategies for rheumatoid arthritis, Dutch researchers used a questionnaire to determine the study conditions and individual motivators that kept 60% of patients participating long term…
ROME, Italy—Even with classification criteria that have been updated and refined over time, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is still a diagnosis that ultimately has to be made with clinical judgment, said Ronald van Vollenhoven, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and chief of clinical therapy research in inflammatory diseases at the Karolinska University in Sweden. His remarks…
ROME, Italy—Fatigue, a problem experienced frequently by patients with rheumatic diseases, is best thought of as a survival mechanism and as a single phenomenon, not a condition that comes in a variety of forms, an expert said in a session at EULAR 2015, the annual congress of the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR). Gene Regulated…