Arthritis & Rheumatology News and Research

Latest Arthritis & Rheumatology News and Research

Three factors contribute to systemic scleroderma-related work disability

Systemic scleroderma has slowed Tracy Zinn but it has not stopped her from working. Thanks in part to determination and an accommodating employer, Zinn is now in her 13th year as an account executive for a firm that produces educational software. But, many with the incapacitating disease are not as fortunate.

13 Jul 2011

U.S. Senators introduce Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act

The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CPF) announced today the Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act has been introduced in the Senate by Senators Chris Coons and Mike Crapo in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Erik Paulsen and Rep. Tammy Baldwin.

13 Jul 2011

Positive results from sarilumab Phase 2b trial on RA, ankylosing spondylitis

Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced results from Phase 2b trials in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) with sarilumab, a novel, high-affinity, subcutaneously administered, fully-human antibody targeting the interleukin-6 receptor.

13 Jul 2011

Cardiologists still perform artery-opening procedure despite changes in guidelines

Despite changes in standard treatment practice guidelines issued by the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association and the European Society of Cardiology several years ago, there has been no meaningful change in the nation's practice of opening completely blocked coronary arteries with balloons and stents in the days after a heart attack, according to a new study published in the July 11, 2011, issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

12 Jul 2011

Specific miRNAs play a key role in melanoma metastasis

Researchers at the NYU Cancer Institute, an NCI-designated cancer center at NYU Langone Medical Center, identified for the first time the key role specific microRNAs play in melanoma metastasis to simultaneously cause cancer cells to invade and immunosuppress the human body's ability to fight abnormal cells.

12 Jul 2011

Big news for ankylosing spondylitis sufferers

In a medical breakthrough, researchers from the University of Queensland have found that there is a possible genetic link in a specific painful form of arthritis, which fuses bones in the spine and pelvis.

12 Jul 2011

People with long term debilitating physical illness demonstrate mental resilience

People who have a long term debilitating physical illness demonstrate mental resilience according to Understanding Society, the world's largest longitudinal household study. The first findings reveal that people diagnosed with cancer, diabetes, respiratory or cardiovascular disease report similar mental health scores to those without physical illness.

11 Jul 2011

USPTO issues notice of allowance to PROLOR Biotech's CTP platform

PROLOR Biotech, Inc., today announced that it has received a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) for a patent application covering the company's CTP platform, which has the potential to extend the duration of activity of virtually all therapeutic proteins.

11 Jul 2011

People with long term debilitating physical illness demonstrate mental resilience

People who have a long term debilitating physical illness demonstrate mental resilience according to Understanding Society, the world's largest longitudinal household study.

11 Jul 2011

Study describes how obesity could protect against mortality in patients with RI/ARDS

Researchers have discovered that obese adults undergoing surgery are less frequently developing respiratory insufficiency (RI) and adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and that when they do, they are less likely to have fatal outcomes.

11 Jul 2011

Arthroscopy as effective as open surgery for patients with common hip problem

Researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery have found that in comparison to open surgery, arthroscopic treatment of a common hip problem that leads to arthritis produces similar outcomes in terms of repairing structural problems in most patients.

11 Jul 2011

Arthroscopy restores range of motion in patients with common hip problem

Arthroscopic treatment of a common hip problem that leads to arthritis is successful in terms of restoring range of motion, according to results from a recent Hospital for Special Surgery study.

11 Jul 2011

New genetic research on Ankylosing Spondylitis

The team of researchers from the Universities of Bristol, Queensland, Oxford, Texas and Toronto, used a technique called genome-wide association where millions of genetic markers are measured in thousands of people that have the disease and thousands of healthy individuals.

11 Jul 2011

New genetic clues about ankylosing spondylitis

A study involving over 5,000 people living with the joint disorder ankylosing spondylitis has identified a series of genetic variants associated with increased susceptibility to the condition as well as providing new clues to how the condition may be treated in the future.

11 Jul 2011

Study reports high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in patients with psoriatic arthritis

New research reports a high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency among patients with psoriatic arthritis. Seasonal variation in vitamin D levels was not observed in patients in southern or northern locations.

11 Jul 2011

AJMS summarizes developments related to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a common and severe lung disease of unknown cause and with no proven therapies. But researchers are pushing forward in investigating new clues to the development and effective treatment of IPF, according to a special symposium presented in The American Journal of the Medical Sciences (AJMS), official journal of the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation (SSCI).

8 Jul 2011

Mesenchymal stem cells protect and heal

A stem cell that can morph into a number of different tissues is proving a natural protector, healer and antibiotic maker, researchers at Case Western Reserve University and their peers have found.

8 Jul 2011

Merck Serono announces recipients of second Grant for Fertility Innovation

Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, today announces the recipients of its second Grant for Fertility Innovation.

8 Jul 2011

High BMI and vigorous physical activity increase risk of arthroplasty in men

Surprising results from a new study revealed that men who smoke had less risk of undergoing total joint replacement surgery than those who never smoked.

8 Jul 2011

Solution for treating obesity-related diseases may reside in fat tissue

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) have shown that the quality – not just the quantity – of adipose, or fat, tissue is a significant contributing factor in the development of inflammation and vascular disease in obese individuals. The study, which is a special feature on the iPAD version of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, provides compelling evidence that the answer to treating cardiovascular disease and other obesity-related disorders, such as type 2 diabetes and cancer, might be found in the adipose tissue itself.

7 Jul 2011