Arthritis & Rheumatology News and Research

Latest Arthritis & Rheumatology News and Research

White House: Shield biotech drugs from generics for only seven years

White House officials said Thursday that biotech drugs (also known as biologics) should only be protected from generics competition for seven years, Reuters reports.

29 Jun 2009

Golimumab shows promise for rheumatoid arthritis

Golimumab, a new tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) inhibitor reduces the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis in patients who have previously received any other TNF-α inhibitor, and might be a good option for patients who have inadequate responses to one or two other TNF-α inhibitors, finds an Article published Online first and in this week's edition of The Lancet.

28 Jun 2009

Roche files MabThera as a first-line biologic treatment for rheumatoid arthritis in Europe

Roche has announced that it has submitted a combined filing to the European health authorities (the European Medicines Agency) for three new indications to extend the label for MabThera to use as a first-line biologic therapy for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

28 Jun 2009

e-health enables more personalized medicine; group fights for digital patient rights

Tonia Odom, a 35-year-old patient with rheumatoid arthritis, a sick father and a young son, each of whom has multiple health problems, has found some relief to the problems of managing her families' array of illnesses in at a Duke University clinic that's a model of the "medical home" approach to medicine, the New York Times reports.

23 Jun 2009

Gout gene discovered

Having partnered last year with an international team that surveyed the genomes of 12,000 individuals to find a genetic cause for gout, Johns Hopkins scientists now have shown that the malfunctioning gene they helped uncover can lead to high concentrations of blood urate that forms crystals in joint tissue, causing inflammation and pain - the hallmark of this disease.

18 Jun 2009

“Life force” linked to body’s ability to withstand stress

Our ability to withstand stress-related, inflammatory diseases may be associated, not just with our race and sex, but with our personality as well, according to a study published in the July issue of the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity. Especially in aging women, low levels of the personality trait extraversion may indicate that blood levels of a key inflammatory molecule have crossed over a threshold linked to a doubling of risk of death within five years.

17 Jun 2009

Tai Chi shows positive health benefits for arthritis

A new study by The George Institute for International Health has found Tai Chi to have positive health benefits for musculoskeletal pain. The results of the first comprehensive analysis of Tai Chi suggest that it produces positive effects for improving pain and disability among arthritis sufferers.

17 Jun 2009

Skin disease psoriasis associated with cardiovascular disease and increased mortality

The skin disease psoriasis is associated with atherosclerosis (a buildup of plaque in the arteries) characterized by an increased prevalence of ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral artery disease and an increased risk of death, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of Dermatology.

16 Jun 2009

Scientists gain new insights into the genetic susceptibility of multiple sclerosis

Australian and New Zealand researchers have accelerated research into Multiple Sclerosis by discovering two new locations of genes which will help to unravel the causes of MS and other autoimmune disease.

15 Jun 2009

Tai Chi helps those chronic aches and pains

A new analysis by Australian researchers has revealed that Tai Chi helps fight chronic aches and pains.

12 Jun 2009

FDA approves injectable Ibuprofen

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Caldolor, the first injectable dosage form of the common pain medication ibuprofen, to treat pain and fever.

11 Jun 2009

Sleep quality in women with rheumatoid arthritis

According to a research abstract presented at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) negatively affect women's sleep. Sleep is further impaired by pain, depression and poor adherence to RA medications.

10 Jun 2009

Mouse experiments shed light on age effects in arthritis

Older mice are more susceptible to proteoglycan-induced arthritis (PGIA). Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Immunity & Ageing have shown, for the first time, that young mice are completely resistant, but become fully susceptible to the disease with age.

10 Jun 2009

Drug derived from the hydrangea root shows promise for autoimmune disorders

A drug derived from the hydrangea root, used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine, shows promise in treating autoimmune disorders, report researchers from the Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine and the Immune Disease Institute at Children's Hospital Boston (PCMM/IDI), along with the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.

4 Jun 2009

Cigarette smoking does not affect everyone in same way

Cigarette smoking induced COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is a disease that results in severe breathing difficulty. According to World Health Organization (WHO) it is the fourth leading killer worldwide. However the mechanisms responsible for some smokers developing COPD and others evading the disease have not been well understood.

4 Jun 2009

Discovery of new genetic immune disorder in children

Your immune system plays an important function in your health - it protects you against viruses, bacteria, and other toxins that can cause disease. In autoinflammatory diseases, however, the immune system goes awry, causing unprovoked and dangerous inflammation.

4 Jun 2009

Surgery in patients with rheumatoid arthritis is often 'too little, too late'

A new study published by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons reveals that one of the most common conditions caused by Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is best treated surgically, sooner rather than later.

2 Jun 2009

Discovery of enzyme involved in inflammatory bowel disease

Researchers at Penn State College of Medicine, working with biochemists, geneticists and clinicians at the University of Bern, Switzerland and in the United Kingdom, have discovered an enzyme that has a key role in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

2 Jun 2009

Impact of Medicare Part D on access to and cost sharing for specialty biologic medications for beneficiaries with rheumatoid arthritis

Biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) such as adalimumab, etanercept and infliximab are effective at reducing symptoms and slowing progression of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). These drugs act more quickly, require less laboratory monitoring, and are better tolerated than nonbiologic DMARDs, but they are also up to 100 times more expensive.

1 Jun 2009

Research looks at relationship between bone density and erosion in arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the most common form of inflammatory arthritis, affects almost three percent of people over age 65. RA patients experience pain, functional limitations and two forms of disabling bone disease: focal erosions and osteoporosis.

1 Jun 2009