Patient portals are online programs and applications that help patients and physicians interact. Although there are many different implementations, most will have some sort of messaging component to help with communication between the doctor and the patient, as well as access to at least some elements of the chart, such as test results. “Patients should…
Biosimilars Receive Positive News On Nov. 19, 2015, the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) recommended granting marketing authorization for SB4, an etanercept biosimilar product that will be called Benepali.1 If approved, Benepali can be used to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), axial spondyloarthritis and plaque psoriasis….
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) show imbalance in their fungal intestinal microbiota, according to new findings. “The fungal microbiota is a new actor to take into account in the pathogenesis of IBD and potentially in other diseases,” Dr. Harry Sokol of Hospital Saint-Antoine in Paris, an author of the new study,…
A recent study used MRI to show that tofacitinib reduces inflammation and inhibition of the progression of structural damage in adults with early RA…
(Reuters Health)—Breathing textile dust on the job is linked to an almost tripled risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a Malaysian study suggests. While smoking is a known risk factor for RA, the findings add to evidence suggesting that environmental factors could trigger RA in some people, the researchers note in their report in Annals…
PARIS (Reuters)—An initial report into a drug trial in northwestern France that left one person dead and five others hospitalized last month did not identify the exact cause, French Health Minister Marisol Touraine said on Thursday. Touraine told a news conference that the condition of the five people who were hospitalized was improving and that…
(Reuters)—A medical advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday recommended approval of a cheaper biosimilar form of Johnson & Johnson’s arthritis drug Remicade (infliximab) that could eventually batter sales of the branded product. The panel, by a vote of 21-3, supported use of the biosimilar from Celltrion Inc. and Pfizer Inc.,…
Recent research has helped further define genetic heritability for pediatric autoimmune diseases. In an interview, Dr. Hakon Hakanarson discusses how understanding common genetic factors can help develop risk prediction and treatments for such diseases as juvenile idiopathic arthritis, lupus and celiac disease…
An etanercept biosimilar referencing Enbrel and designed to treat multiple autoimmune diseases has been approved for the European market. Also, an application for subcutaneous brodalumab to treat plaque psoriasis has been submitted to the FDA…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Apremilast improves clinical outcomes in patients with psoriatic arthritis and active psoriasis, according to results from the PALACE 3 randomized controlled trial. Apremilast, a phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitor, showed efficacy against psoriatic arthritis in the PALACE 1 trial. Dr. Christopher J. Edwards from University Hospital Southampton in the U.K. and colleagues evaluated…