Arthritis & Rheumatology News and Research

Latest Arthritis & Rheumatology News and Research

Beneficial intestinal bacteria can activate immune cells and trigger MS

Multiple sclerosis is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. For a long time, pathogens were believed to be such external influences. According to scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried, however, it is apparently not harmful bacteria that trigger multiple sclerosis, but beneficial ones - specifically, the natural intestinal flora, which every human being needs for digestion.

28 Oct 2011

La Jolla Institute becomes 5th participant in novel stem cell research collaboration

The La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology has become the fifth organization in the prestigious Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, joining colleagues from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, The Scripps Research Institute, University of California, San Diego and the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in the first-of-its-kind multi-institutional stem cell research collaboration.

28 Oct 2011

Regeneron announces positive results from sarilumab Phase 2b trial on RA

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that detailed clinical data from the positive Phase 2b portion of the seamless Phase 2/3 MOBILITY trial of sarilumab in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) will be presented at a late-breaking poster session at the upcoming American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Annual Scientific Meeting, which will take place from November 5-9 in Chicago.

28 Oct 2011

NHMRC awards $2 million to investigate new therapies for reversing autoimmune disease

Research being undertaken at the University of Adelaide and Women's and Children's Hospital is providing vital clues into the causes of autoimmune diseases which affect millions of people around the world.

24 Oct 2011

Vertex initiates INCIVEK combination Phase 3b study for hepatitis C

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced the initiation of a Phase 3b study called CONCISE that will evaluate the potential for treatment with INCIVEK (telaprevir) combination therapy to be shortened to 12 weeks in people with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C who have the 'CC' variation near the IL28B gene.

24 Oct 2011

Tokyo Medical University enters RA research collaboration with Progenra

Progenra, Inc. announced today it has entered in to a research collaboration with Dr. Toshihiro Nakajima, Professor, Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo Medical University.

24 Oct 2011

Microbiome and its role in gastric and estrogen-related cancers

In the October 20th edition of the journal Cell Host and Microbe, Drs. Claudia Plottel and Martin J. Blaser of the Departments of Medicine and Microbiology at NYU Langone Medical Center, and the Department of Biology at New York University, present a model for understanding how cancer evolves in humans based on an understanding of the bacteria living in our body, the microbiome.

22 Oct 2011

Researchers identify cancer cell cycle-regulated mechanism

Researchers from the NYU Cancer Institute, an NCI-designated cancer center at NYU Langone Medical Center, have identified a cell cycle-regulated mechanism behind the transformation of normal cells into cancerous cells.

22 Oct 2011

Xencor commences XmAb5871 Phase 1 trial in autoimmune diseases

Xencor, Inc., a company using its proprietary Protein Design Automation (PDA) platform technology to engineer next-generation antibodies, announced today the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial of XmAb5871, the company's therapeutic antibody for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.

22 Oct 2011

Inhibition of miR-33a/b suppresses triglyceride levels, increases HDL-C cholesterol

Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center today announce findings published in the October 20 issue of Nature that show for the first time the inhibition of both microRNA-33a and microRNA-33b (miR-33a/b) with chemically modified anti-miR oligonucleotides markedly suppress triglyceride levels and cause a sustained increase in high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) "good" cholesterol.

21 Oct 2011

African-Americans have higher burden of multiple, large-joint OA

New research suggests African Americans have a higher burden of multiple, large-joint osteoarthritis (OA), and may not be recognized based on the current definition of "generalized OA."

21 Oct 2011

Winter health and safety tips

Winter is a special time for celebration. It should also be a time for added caution if you or someone in your family is an older adult. It is the season for falls, slips on icy streets, and other dangers that can be especially harmful for older adults. "Something as simple as a fall can be devastating for older men and women," says Dr. Evelyn Granieri, director of the Division of Geriatrics at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/The Allen Hospital. "Before the cold weather arrives, it is important to prepare."

20 Oct 2011

Johnson & Johnson third quarter sales increase 6.8% to $16.0 billion

Johnson & Johnson today announced sales of $16.0 billion for the third quarter of 2011, an increase of 6.8% as compared to the third quarter of 2010. Operational results increased 2.6% and the positive impact of currency was 4.2%. Domestic sales declined 3.7%.

18 Oct 2011

Takeda commences TAK-875 Phase 3 clinical trial program for type 2 diabetes

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Takeda Global Research & Development Center, Inc., and Takeda Global Research & Development Centre (Europe), Ltd., announced today the initiation of the Company's Phase 3 clinical trial program for TAK-875, an investigational therapy for type 2 diabetes.

18 Oct 2011

Omega-3 in fish oil could reduce signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis

New research has shown for the first time that omega-3 in fish oil could "substantially and significantly" reduce the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis.

18 Oct 2011

ChemoCentryx commences CCX168 Phase II trial in ANCA-associated vasculitis

ChemoCentryx, Inc., today announced the initiation of a Phase II clinical trial for CCX168, an orally-administered small molecule for the treatment of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV), a disease which can lead to renal and pulmonary failure.

18 Oct 2011

ApoPharma receives FDA approval for Ferriprox to treat transfusional iron overload

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Ferriprox (deferiprone) to treat patients with iron overload due to blood transfusions in patients with thalassemia, a genetic blood disorder that causes anemia, who had an inadequate response to prior chelation therapy.

15 Oct 2011

IRMS tracks course of designer 'legal high' drugs manufacture

Urgently needed tests which could help identify the manufacturers of designer 'legal high' drugs are being developed in research led at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.

14 Oct 2011

Researchers control itch without dulling morphine's pain-killing effects

Itching is one of the most prevalent side effects of powerful, pain-killing drugs like morphine, oxycodone and other opioids. The opiate-associated itch is so common that even women who get epidurals for labor pain often complain of itching. For many years, scientists have scratched their own heads about why drugs that so effectively suppress pain also induce itch.

14 Oct 2011

Study finds 22% of psoriasis patients with symptoms of psoriatic arthritis

If you have psoriasis or a family history of psoriasis and you are experiencing joint pain and swelling, you could have psoriatic arthritis, a serious disease that may lead to joint destruction and disability.

13 Oct 2011