Rheumatology News and Research

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Rheumatology is a sub-specialty in internal medicine and pediatrics, devoted to the diagnosis and therapy of rheumatic diseases. Rheumatologists mainly deal with clinical problems involving joints, soft tissues and allied conditions of connective tissues.

Nanosphere's Verisens cTnI assay measures low levels of troponin I in patients with heart failure

A clinical study released online by the European Journal of Heart Failure, a publication of the European Society of Cardiology, demonstrates the value of using Nanosphere's Verisens cTnI assay to detect very low levels of troponin I in hospitalized patients with heart failure.

20 Dec 2010

Merck, sanofi-aventis enter global cancer research and development agreement

Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, announced today that Merck, has signed a worldwide research and development agreement with sanofi-aventis U.S. Inc., under which Merck Serono and sanofi-aventis U.S. Inc. will collaboratively investigate novel experimental combinations of agents that could block specific pathways in cancer cells. This collaboration could deliver novel targeted oncology treatments with high therapeutic potential.

17 Dec 2010

CGEN-15001 administration shows dramatic therapeutic potential in CIA animal model

Compugen Ltd. announced today that administration of CGEN-15001 in an animal model of rheumatoid arthritis dramatically ameliorates the clinical symptoms of the disease.

15 Dec 2010

New research reports more than 10% of RA patients lack health literacy

Many patients seen at a rheumatology clinic—including some with a long history of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)—don't recognize important terms related to their health and medical treatment, reports a study in the December issue of JCR: Journal of Clinical Rheumatology.

15 Dec 2010

Lexicon reports top-line results from LX2931 Phase 2a study in rheumatoid arthritis

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering breakthrough treatments for human disease, announced top-line results from a recently completed Phase 2a study of LX2931 in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). LX2931 is an orally-delivered, small molecule drug candidate that inhibits sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) lyase, an enzyme important for modulating the immune system by controlling S1P levels in lymphoid tissues.

14 Dec 2010

Rheumatologists raise awareness on early diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory arthritis

In people who develop symptoms of inflammatory arthritis, early diagnosis and treatment can have a significant impact on the course of disease—in some cases even preventing deformity and loss of function from rheumatoid arthritis, according to an article in the December issue of JCR: Journal of Clinical Rheumatology.

14 Dec 2010

New collaboration to develop vaccine to prevent malaria parasite from entering human liver

Development of a vaccine to prevent the malaria parasite from entering the human liver is the goal of a new collaboration announced today by global leaders in malaria research and vaccine development. The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI), Merck (known outside the US and Canada as MSD), and NYU Langone Medical Center are working together to evaluate an approach targeting a novel part of a major surface protein on the malaria parasite.

14 Dec 2010

Immunomedics, UCB initiate enrollment in EMBODY 1 epratuzumab Phase III study in SLE

Immunomedics Inc. and UCB today announced the enrollment of the first patient into EMBODY™ 1, one of two pivotal Phase III studies of epratuzumab in patients with moderate to severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Patient enrollment for EMBODY™ 2 has also begun.

14 Dec 2010

Alliance of Specialty Medicine calls for new, permanent Medicare reimbursement formula

The Alliance of Specialty Medicine (Alliance) today called on Congress to permanently fix Medicare's Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) after lawmakers once again passed a temporary fix, thereby postponing unprecedented reimbursement cuts to Medicare doctors until 2012.

10 Dec 2010

School-based intervention program helps students with asthma better manage symptoms

A school-based intervention program helped New York City high school students with moderate to severe asthma better manage their symptoms, dramatically reducing the need for urgent care, including hospitalizations and emergency room visits, according to a study published online in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

9 Dec 2010

FDA Advisory Committee votes in favor of Orexigen's Contrave for treatment of obesity

Orexigen® Therapeutics, Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 13 to 7 that the available data adequately demonstrate that the potential benefits of Contrave® (naltrexone sustained release (SR)/bupropion SR) outweigh the potential risks when used long-term in a population of overweight and obese individuals and support approval.

8 Dec 2010

HSS creates Center for Musculoskeletal Outcomes and Patient Oriented Research

Hospital for Special Surgery announced the creation of the Center for Musculoskeletal Outcomes and Patient Oriented Research to translate information collected from an extensive patient population into studies that will guide experts in preventing, diagnosing and treating musculoskeletal disorders.

4 Dec 2010

Active recreational athletes at risk for shoulder injuries this holiday season, say doctors

Around the holidays, even the friendliest game of flag football can lead to injury. According to sports medicine doctors at Hospital for Special Surgery, older and newly active recreational athletes are particularly at risk for shoulder injuries.

4 Dec 2010

HSS creates Center for Musculoskeletal Outcomes and Patient Oriented Research

Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) announced the creation of the Center for Musculoskeletal Outcomes and Patient Oriented Research to translate information collected from an extensive patient population into studies that will guide experts in preventing, diagnosing and treating musculoskeletal disorders.

2 Dec 2010

Alliance of Specialty Medicine calls for permanent fix to Medicare SGR formula

In response to Congress acting to postpone unprecedented reimbursement cuts to doctors who treat Medicare patients, The Alliance of Specialty Medicine (Alliance) today called on lawmakers to work towards a permanent solution to fix to the program's Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula so temporary fixes would no longer be necessary.

1 Dec 2010

Golimumab with methotrexate improves markers of inflammation and structural damage in RA patients

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analyses from two Phase 3 clinical trials showed that once every four week subcutaneous injections of golimumab 50 mg plus methotrexate resulted in statistically significant improvements in markers of inflammation and structural damage in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared with placebo plus methotrexate.

30 Nov 2010

Cytheris' combinational therapy demonstrates possible therapeutic strategy for PML

Cytheris SA, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on research and development of new therapies for immune modulation, today announced the publication of a case study report based on successful treatment of Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML) with combination therapy consisting of two investigational agents, Cytheris' recombinant human interleukin-7 (CYT107) and CMX001, an investigational, oral broad-spectrum antiviral drug (Chimerix, Research Triangle Park, NC) in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

30 Nov 2010

Affymax, Takeda to regulate peginesatide drug for treating anemia in CRF patients

Affymax, Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited , today announced that following pre-New Drug Application (NDA) discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the companies will move forward with their regulatory strategy for the investigational drug, peginesatide, for the treatment of anemia in chronic renal failure (CRF) patients on dialysis in the United States.

29 Nov 2010

African American cigarette smokers at higher risk of rheumatoid arthritis

A new study determined that African Americans who smoke cigarettes have a higher risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA risk is more pronounced among individuals positive for the HLA-DRB1 shared epitope, a genetic risk factor for RA. Findings from this study—the largest to date examining the impact of smoking on RA risk in an African American population—are available in the December issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).

23 Nov 2010

Early diagnosis and treatment result in positive outcomes for RA patients

Positive outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are closely linked to early diagnosis and treatment with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). A study by researchers in the Netherlands found that patients who are assessed by rheumatologists soon after RA symptoms appear are more likely to experience less joint destruction and improved chances of DMARD-free disease remission.

23 Nov 2010

Rheumatology News and Research

Further Reading

Nanosphere's Verisens cTnI assay measures low levels of troponin I in patients with heart failure

Merck, sanofi-aventis enter global cancer research and development agreement

CGEN-15001 administration shows dramatic therapeutic potential in CIA animal model

New research reports more than 10% of RA patients lack health literacy

Lexicon reports top-line results from LX2931 Phase 2a study in rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatologists raise awareness on early diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory arthritis

New collaboration to develop vaccine to prevent malaria parasite from entering human liver

Immunomedics, UCB initiate enrollment in EMBODY 1 epratuzumab Phase III study in SLE

Alliance of Specialty Medicine calls for new, permanent Medicare reimbursement formula

School-based intervention program helps students with asthma better manage symptoms

FDA Advisory Committee votes in favor of Orexigen's Contrave for treatment of obesity

HSS creates Center for Musculoskeletal Outcomes and Patient Oriented Research

Active recreational athletes at risk for shoulder injuries this holiday season, say doctors

HSS creates Center for Musculoskeletal Outcomes and Patient Oriented Research

Alliance of Specialty Medicine calls for permanent fix to Medicare SGR formula

Golimumab with methotrexate improves markers of inflammation and structural damage in RA patients

Cytheris' combinational therapy demonstrates possible therapeutic strategy for PML

Affymax, Takeda to regulate peginesatide drug for treating anemia in CRF patients

African American cigarette smokers at higher risk of rheumatoid arthritis

Early diagnosis and treatment result in positive outcomes for RA patients

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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