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.

Infliximab biosimilar CT-P13 improves disease activity in patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis

New data presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2014) show that the newly-approved infliximab biosimilar CT-P13 achieves statistically similar improvements in disease activity, disability and mobility in patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) compared to its original reference product infliximab (INX).

13 Jun 2014

Researchers explain possibility of using biomarkers in children with JIA to predict status of disease

Data presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2014) demonstrate the possibility of using biomarkers (developed from whole blood gene expression profiles) in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) to predict the status of their disease at 12 months.

13 Jun 2014

Cranial ultrasound has greater sensitivity than temporal artery biopsy in diagnosis of GCA

A new study presented for the first time today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2014), shows that cranial ultrasound has a greater sensitivity than temporal artery biopsy,* and a comparable specificity in the diagnosis of Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA).

13 Jun 2014

Walking 6,000 steps per day may protect people at risk of knee OA

A new study shows that walking reduces risk of functional limitation associated with knee osteoarthritis (OA). In fact, the study funded in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and published in the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) journal, Arthritis Care & Research, suggests that walking 6,000 or more steps per day may protect those with or at risk of knee of OA from developing mobility issues, such as difficulty getting up from a chair and climbing stairs.

13 Jun 2014

BRI researchers use tetramer technology to find T cells that drive rheumatoid arthritis

Researchers at Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason used cutting-edge tetramer technology developed at BRI to find the T cells that drive rheumatoid arthritis (RA). "By using tetramer technology, we were able to examine whether T cells in people with rheumatoid arthritis were increased in number or were unique in other ways," says BRI Associate Director Jane Buckner, MD, who led the study with BRI Tetramer Core Laboratory Manager Eddie James, PhD.

12 Jun 2014

Osteoarthritis patients treated with SoluMatrix meloxicam report greater pain relief

Iroko Pharmaceuticals, LLC, a global specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to advancing the science of analgesia, today will present Phase 3 results that showed osteoarthritis (OA) patients treated with investigational SoluMatrix meloxicam 5 mg and 10 mg, a low dose nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), reported significantly greater pain relief compared with placebo.

12 Jun 2014

Study supports proposal to screen all men with gout for presence of ED

A new study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress showed that erectile dysfunction (ED) is present in most men with gout and is frequently severe.

12 Jun 2014

One-third of PsA patients not receiving adalimumab doses to achieve optimal clinical benefit

Data presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress showed that a significant number of patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) were not receiving doses of the tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) inhibitor adalimumab necessary to achieve optimal clinical benefit.

12 Jun 2014

DNA methylation identified as potential anti-TNF response biomarker for RA

DNA methylation has been identified as a potential biomarker of response to etanercept and adalimumab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) according to preliminary results from one of the largest methylome-wide investigations of treatment response to anti-TNF therapies.

12 Jun 2014

Exercise transiently suppresses inflammation in rheumatic disease

Research findings presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress suggest that exercise transiently suppresses local and systemic inflammation, reinforcing the beneficial effects of exercise and the need for this to be regular in order to achieve clinical efficacy in rheumatic disease.

12 Jun 2014

Intake of monounsaturated fatty acids, cholesterol influence disease activity in RA and OA respectively

Two new studies presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress have helped clarify the relationship between the dietary intake of monounsaturated fatty acids and cholesterol with disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) respectively.

12 Jun 2014

Obese patients with rheumatoid arthritis have higher disease activity scores

A new study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress showed that obese patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have higher DAS (disease activity) scores than non-obese patients, irrespective of their disease stage.

12 Jun 2014

Study identifies correlation between miRNAs and osteoarthritis

The results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress identify a correlation between the presence of biomarkers in the blood, known as micro RNAs (miRNAs), and the development of severe osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee or hip joint. The findings suggest that miRNAs may be used as biomarkers to predict severe OA disease in individuals.

12 Jun 2014

‘Real-world’ ambrisentan data unveiled

The use of and outcomes with ambrisentan in clinical practice are different to those in clinical trials, reflecting different patient characteristics in the “real world”, say researchers.

11 Jun 2014

Haemodynamic exercise variables “important” for PAH prognostication

Exercise haemodynamic variables, measured shortly after diagnosis, correlate with exercise capacity and predict survival in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension, study findings indicate.

11 Jun 2014

Celgene: OTEZLA phase III study for psoriatic arthritis meets primary endpoint

Celgene International Sàrl, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG), today announced results of additional analyses from the phase III clinical trials of OTEZLA, the Company's oral, selective inhibitor of phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4).

11 Jun 2014

Researchers find standard heart disease risk assessment tools for rheumatoid arthritis patients

Rheumatoid arthritis patients overall are twice as likely as the average person to develop heart problems. Pinpointing which rheumatoid arthritis patients need stepped-up heart disease prevention efforts has been a challenge; research by Mayo Clinic and others has found that standard heart disease risk assessment tools may underrate the danger a particular person faces.

11 Jun 2014