Arthritis & Rheumatology News and Research

Latest Arthritis & Rheumatology News and Research

Hot yoga practicing tips

Yoga is one of the hottest fitness trends and a style known as "hot yoga" is gaining in popularity. Hot yoga refers to yoga practiced in a heated environment, with the room temperature generally reaching 90 to 105 degrees. The theory behind it is that hot yoga helps the body to sweat out toxins while allowing the practitioner to safely achieve deeper poses. Bikram is a common form of hot yoga.

17 Jan 2012

Incidence of knee arthroplasty higher in women, finds study

Researchers in Finland found that annual cumulative incidences of partial and total knee arthroplasty, commonly known as knee replacement surgery, rose rapidly over a 27-year period among 30 to 59 year-olds in that country, with the greatest increase occurring in patients aged 50 to 59 years.

17 Jan 2012

Researchers discover HS1.2 enhancer as the cause of SLE

A "genetic accelerator" is responsible for the most severe cases of Lupus (systemic lupus erythemathosus), an autoimmune disease: the accelerator, called enhancer HS1.2, speeds up the activity of some critical genes of the immune system involved in the disease.

17 Jan 2012

Scientists discover specific immune system T cells that trigger destruction of type 1 diabetes

Researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology have proven - for the first time in human tissues -- the specific immune system T cells which trigger the destruction of type 1 diabetes in the pancreas. The finding is an important advance that verifies in humans several important disease characteristics shown in mouse studies and provides a key focal point for interrupting the disease process.

13 Jan 2012

Cryo-electron microscopy can visualize structures within viruses

Since the discovery of the microscope, scientists have tried to visualize smaller and smaller structures to provide insights into the inner workings of human cells, bacteria and viruses. Now, researchers at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), part of the National Institutes of Health, have developed a new way to see structures within viruses that were not clearly seen before.

13 Jan 2012

Researchers identify human receptor that can taste fat

Why do we like fatty foods so much? We can blame our taste buds. Our tongues apparently recognize and have an affinity for fat, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. They have found that variations in a gene can make people more or less sensitive to the taste of fat.

13 Jan 2012

Study shows how Notch gene and PRC2 protein complex work together to cause T-ALL

A new study published in the journal Nature Medicine by NYU Cancer Institute researchers, shows how the cancer causing gene Notch, in combination with a mutated Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) protein complex, work together to cause T- cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

13 Jan 2012

Excess salt stimulates production of adrenalin and causes hypertension

A review article by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) debunks the widely-believed concept that hypertension, or high blood pressure, is the result of excess salt causing an increased blood volume, exerting extra pressure on the arteries. Published online in the Journal of Hypertension, the study demonstrates that excess salt stimulates the sympathetic nervous system to produce adrenalin, causing artery constriction and hypertension.

12 Jan 2012

Researchers identify mechanism that makes retinoblastoma so aggressive

New findings from the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project (PCGP) have helped identify the mechanism that makes the childhood eye tumor retinoblastoma so aggressive. The discovery explains why the tumor develops so rapidly while other cancers can take years or even decades to form.

11 Jan 2012

Baro-Therapies introduces portable barometric therapy device for pain, inflammation

Baro-Therapies, Inc. has announced the national launch of The Rejuvenator, a portable barometric therapy device that provides drug-free relief from inflammatory pain and neurological conditions using elevated barometric pressure.

11 Jan 2012

Older women with significant height loss at increased risk for broken bones and death

Older women who have lost more than two inches in height face an increased risk of breaking bones and dying, according to a new study published in the January issue of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research and funded by the National Institutes of Health.

11 Jan 2012

Study confirms safety and effectiveness of rAHF-PFM in managing hemophilia A

A Rush University Medical Center led international research team has announced that a treatment to prevent bleeding episodes in children with hemophilia A also is effective for adolescents and adults.

10 Jan 2012

Study identifies netrin-1 as novel target for atherosclerosis

A new study by NYU Langone Medical Center researchers identified a new culprit that leads to atherosclerosis, the accumulation of fat and cholesterol that hardens into plaque and narrows arteries. The research, published online by Nature Immunology on January 8, 2012, explains why cholesterol-laden, coronary artery disease-causing cells called macrophages, accumulate in artery plaques.

10 Jan 2012

Novel target in artery plaque identified as potential therapeutic intervention

A new study by NYU Langone Medical Center researchers identified a new culprit that leads to atherosclerosis, the accumulation of fat and cholesterol that hardens into plaque and narrows arteries.

9 Jan 2012

AICAR therapy may combat heat stroke

We've all seen the story in the news before. Whether it's the death of a physically fit high school athlete at football training camp in August, or of an elderly woman gardening in the middle of the day in July, heat stroke is a serious, life-threatening condition for which there is no treatment beyond submersion in ice water or the application of ice packs to cool the body to a normal temperature.

8 Jan 2012

Positive results from BioCryst's BCX4208 Phase 2b study on gout

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced long-term results from the extension phase of its randomized Phase 2b study of BCX4208 added to allopurinol in patients with gout who had failed to reach the serum uric acid (sUA) therapeutic goal of <6 mg/dL on allopurinol alone.

8 Jan 2012

Questcor reports record vial shipments of Acthar in fourth quarter 2011

In preparation for meetings starting Monday, January 9 with investors and an investor presentation scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Thursday, January 12 at the J. P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced preliminary operating metrics for the fourth quarter 2011.

7 Jan 2012

Cardinal Health launches infusion room management tool for community rheumatologists

Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions today launched InfusaTrack, a Web-based infusion room management tool that makes it easier for community rheumatology practices to offer in-office infusion therapy services to patients.

7 Jan 2012

CMS assigns permanent J-code for Savient's KRYSTEXXA to treat RCG

Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that a product-specific billing code, or permanent J-code, for KRYSTEXXA (pegloticase) became available on January 1, 2012.

7 Jan 2012

GSK obtains exclusive license to ChemoCentryx's CCX354 CCR1 inhibitor for RA

ChemoCentryx, Inc., today announced that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has exercised its option to obtain an exclusive license for further development and worldwide commercialization of the investigational medicine CCX354, a potent and selective inhibitor of CCR1, a chemokine receptor that drives the recruitment of inflammatory cells into the joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

6 Jan 2012