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.

Researchers find protein targets for potential treatment of multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is not a single condition, but an ebbing and flowing of stages affecting the body ' s central nervous system.

18 Feb 2008

New spine center at UT Southwestern

UT Southwestern Medical Center has launched a multidisciplinary Spine Center that features top physicians from diverse fields who work together to treat one of the most common problems plaguing our aging society: back pain.

14 Feb 2008

Some cases of autism may be traced to the immune system of mothers during pregnancy

New research from the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute and Center for Children's Environmental Health has found that antibodies in the blood of mothers of children with autism bind to fetal brain cells, potentially interrupting healthy brain development.

12 Feb 2008

New FDA advisory on Chantix (varenicline)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a Public Health Advisory to alert health care providers, patients, and caregivers to new safety warnings concerning Chantix (varenicline), a prescription medication used to help patients stop smoking.

5 Feb 2008

Depression and rheumatoid arthritis

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the most common chronic inflammatory arthritis, are twice as likely as other individuals to experience depression.

5 Feb 2008

Protein, macrophage migration inhibitory factor predicts heart attack response and cardiac damage

A protein has been found that influences the response of the heart to a lack of oxygen and blood flow, such as occurs during a heart attack, a team of Yale School of Medicine researchers report in Nature.

4 Feb 2008

Stanford study finds transplant patient thrives 2 years after stopping immunosuppressive drugs

Luck smiled on Larry Kowalski when his brother agreed to donate a kidney Kowalski needed to live.

24 Jan 2008

Genetics behind the disease systemic lupus erythematosus almost completed

A new study has mapped the risk factors behind the autoimmune disease SLE in the entire human genome.

22 Jan 2008

Discovery of multiple genes linked to systemic lupus erythematosus

A landmark genetic study has identified multiple genes linked to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), or lupus, a debilitating autoimmune disease that affects an estimated 1.4 million Americans.

21 Jan 2008

Common variations in human DNA signal lupus risk

Scientists have pinpointed a set of common variations in human DNA that signal a higher risk for lupus in women who carry them.

21 Jan 2008

Bisphosphonates - osteoporosis drugs triple risk of bone necrosis

A University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute study has found that a popular class of osteoporosis drugs nearly triples the risk of developing bone necrosis, a condition that can lead to disfigurement and incapacitating pain.

16 Jan 2008

People whose index finger is shorter than their ring finger are at higher risk of osteoarthritis

A study of more than 2,000 people, published in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism, suggests that people whose index finger is shorter than their ring finger are up to twice as likely to suffer from the condition, which is the most common form of arthritis.

7 Jan 2008

The risk of osteoarthritis and index to ring finger length ratio

Index to ring finger length ratio (2D:4D) is a trait known for its sexual differences.

3 Jan 2008

Growing burden of arthritis in the U.S.

Arthritis is the most common cause of disability in the United States. Over the next 25 years as the Baby Boom generation continues to age, the toll of this disease will escalate.

3 Jan 2008

Protein's new role discovered in autoimmune disease

Investigators at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have identified the previously unknown role of a chemical 'messenger' leading to autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

3 Jan 2008

Highlights of pulmonary and critical care symposium

New perspectives on lung cancer screening, complications of sleep apnea, cystic fibrosis, and other key topics in pulmonary and critical care medicine are presented in the special January issue of The American Journal of Medical Sciences, published by the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation and Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, provider of leading healthcare content, context and consulting.

3 Jan 2008

Genetic cause of Kawasaki disease

Researchers from Japan's RIKEN SNP Research Center, collaborating with a team at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), have discovered a new genetic variation that affects a child's risk of getting Kawasaki disease (KD), an illness characterized by acute inflammation of the arteries throughout the body.

17 Dec 2007

Pine bark naturally reduces osteoarthritis knee pain

Affecting more than 10 million Americans, Osteoarthritis of the knee (OA) is one of the five leading causes of disability among the elderly.

5 Dec 2007

Geisinger rheumatologists redesign osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis care

With the nation collectively spending about $18 billion per year on osteoporosis related bone fractures, Geisinger researchers found that streamlining the ordering process for osteoporosis bone density scans quadrupled the number of patients who received the exam.

19 Nov 2007

Head-to-head comparison of Forteo and Fosamax

The osteoporosis drug Forteo works better than Fosamax to strengthen bones in arthritis patients with prednisone-induced osteoporosis, according to a new study from a researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB.)

15 Nov 2007