Arthritis News and Research

Latest Arthritis News and Research

Scientists discover the off signal for inflammation

Proteins, the building block for all living organisms, are the ultimate transformers - able to splice and switch roles and functions within the human body. But when these changes go wrong, diseases such as cancers and arthritis may result, says University of British Columbia researcher Chris Overall.

18 Feb 2012

Abcodia, Volition announce collaboration agreement

VolitionRX Limited, a life sciences company focused on developing blood-based diagnostic tests, announces a collaboration agreement with Abcodia, a specialist company spun out from University College London (UCL), under which Volition will gain access to Abcodia's biobank of over 5,000,000 human serum samples to validate its suite of NuQ tests.

17 Feb 2012

Pharmos reports net loss of $0.4 million for fourth quarter 2011

Pharmos Corporation reported financial results for the fourth quarter and twelve-month period ended December 31, 2011. These results are included in the Company's Yearly Report on Form 10-K which has been filed with the SEC.

17 Feb 2012

Web-based intervention can effectively manage chronic migraine

painACTION.com is a free, non-promotional online program designed to support self-management and improve overall function in people with chronic pain. This study tested painACTION.com's ability to increase the use of self-management skills in people with chronic migraine headaches.

17 Feb 2012

AstraZeneca launches ARIMIDEX Direct to help cancer patients

AstraZeneca today announced its first-ever direct-to-patient program offering patients with a valid prescription for ARIMIDEX or anastrozole the opportunity to have the brand ARIMIDEX delivered directly to their home by Express Scripts, a specialty pharmacy services provider, for $40 per month, including shipping.

17 Feb 2012

More than half of women with SLE and RA have fewer children than desired

New research shows that more than half of women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have fewer children than desired. While patient choice has some influence on the smaller family size, findings published today in Arthritis Care & Research, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), suggest that higher rates of infertility and miscarriage may also impact the number of offspring born to women with these chronic conditions.

16 Feb 2012

Obesity may increase symptom severity and decrease QOL in patients with fibromyalgia

People with fibromyalgia can have difficulty getting a definitive diagnosis and finding an effective treatment plan. For many patients, the condition involves a confounding array of symptoms, including chronic pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance and mood disorders. One factor associated with fibromyalgia symptoms is a patient's weight, according to a Mayo Clinic study published on February 2012 in Arthritis Care & Research.

16 Feb 2012

Juvenile arthritis affected kids are at a high risk of cancer: Study

A new study shows that kids with juvenile idiopathic arthritis develop cancer four times more often than children without the disease, but the treatments they receive - including biologic treatments like Enbrel - may not explain their increased risk. If confirmed, researchers say the findings should ease fears that biologic treatments known as TNF inhibitors cause cancer in children and young adults.

14 Feb 2012

Knee replacements double in 10 years, study says

More than 4 million Americans over 50 have artificial knees, according to a new study. ... "These data are sobering because we didn't know what an army of people we've created over the last decade," said study author Elena Losina, co-director of the Orthopedics and Arthritis Center for Outcomes Research at Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital. ... Artificial knees also wear out after a period of time, so as the operations are increasingly done on younger Americans, many will live long enough to almost certainly need a second or even third knee replacement.

14 Feb 2012

Supply of childhood leukemia drug nearly exhausted

A medicine to treat children's leukemia is in such short supply that hospitals may run out within weeks; meanwhile, families of people with Alzheimer's disease are clamoring to use a skin-cancer drug after a promising study in mice.

14 Feb 2012

$Physical exercise in early 20's aids bone growth, reduces risk of fractures$

Physical exercise in early 20's aids bone growth, reduces risk of fractures

Physical exercise in the early twenties improves bone development and may reduce the risk of fractures later in life, reveals a study of more than 800 Swedish men carried out at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

14 Feb 2012

First Edition: February 13, 2012

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations preview President Barack Obama's budget, which will be released today, and examine the lingering controversy over mandates on contraceptive coverage.

13 Feb 2012

Regeneron reports total revenues of $123.0M for fourth quarter 2011

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and full year 2011 and provided an update on development programs.

13 Feb 2012

Benefits of long-term Kineret therapy in people with NOMID

A new study shows that Kineret (anakinra), a medication approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, is effective in stopping the progression of organ damage in people with neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease.

13 Feb 2012

Molecular secrets behind halofuginone's power

For roughly two thousand years, Chinese herbalists have treated Malaria using a root extract, commonly known as Chang Shan, from a type of hydrangea that grows in Tibet and Nepal. More recent studies suggest that halofuginone, a compound derived from this extract's bioactive ingredient, could be used to treat many autoimmune disorders as well. Now, researchers from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine have discovered the molecular secrets behind this herbal extract's power.

13 Feb 2012

Incident malignancy four times higher among children with JIA

New research reports that incident malignancy among children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is four times higher than in those without the disease. Findings now available in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), suggest JIA treatment, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors, does not necessarily explain the development of cancer in this pediatric population.

13 Feb 2012

Tai chi could benefit Parkinson’s disease patients

A new study found that a six-month program of Tai Chi exercises helped people with various stages of Parkinson's disease improve stability, their ability to walk and reduced the frequency of falls.

12 Feb 2012

TKR surgeries have more than doubled over the past decade

New research presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) found that more than 4.5 million Americans are living with a total knee replacement (TKR), as the number of TKR surgeries has more than doubled over the past decade, with the sharpest rise among younger patients. Osteoarthritis continues to be the primary reason for TKR.

10 Feb 2012

Osiris provides update on status of development, commercialization agreement with Genzyme

Osiris Therapeutics, Inc., today provided an update on the status of the development and commercialization agreement with Genzyme, a Sanofi company.

10 Feb 2012

Adaptive radiotherapy may benefit patients with head and neck cancer

Researchers led by a senior investigator at Hofstra-North Shore LIJ School of Medicine and The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have released initial findings from a first-of-a-kind clinical trial in adaptive radiotherapy (ART) for head and neck cancer.

10 Feb 2012