Lancet Tackles the Global Challenge of Low Back Pain
Lancet has several reports on low back pain (LBP) as a major problem worldwide, largely because of the aging population.
Low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide.
News
Cannabis Laws Lessen the Opioid Crisis
Three reports from JAMA Internal Medicine demonstrate favorable trends with less opioid use when cannabis became legal.
Unmet Needs in Calcium Pyrophosphate Deposition Disease
Abhishek et al have written on the results of an international survey of crystal arthritis experts and identified the unmet needs regarding calcium pyrophosphate crystal deposition (CPPD) - research, classification, diagnosis and management.
Obesity Surgery Tames Knee OA Pain
Laparoscopic gastric band (LAGB) surgery was associated with significant decreases in knee pain from osteoarthritis (OA), with the greatest improvements seen among those whose body mass index (BMI) had the greatest decreases and among younger patients, researchers reported.
The RheumNow Week in Review -30 March 2018
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com. News on drug regulatory decisions, fenofibrate and gout, Still's disease, TB and infection rates, SpA and hidradenitis suppurativa, and predicting methotrexate non-responders.
NHANES: Trends in Calcium Supplements
The journal Bone reports that given excess calcium intake may not be entirely free from unintended health consequences, it's important to undestand trends in calcium supplement use.
Precision Genetics Can Predict Methotrexate Non-Responders
Investigators from Glasgow and Oxford have identified changes in genomic architecture, represented by a chromosome conformation signature, that can predict nonresponse to methotrexate in early rheumatoid arthritis patients.
Recognizing that studies show 35–59% of RA patients do not achieve clinically meaningful responses after starting MTX, they sought to identify a pattern of genetic changes in 59 early RA patients that would predict poor responses to MTX therapy.
2 Weeks Off Methotrexate OK for Flu Vaccine
Stopping methotrexate for 2 weeks after the administration of flu vaccine led to improved immunogenicity without increasing disease activity among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a prospective Korean study showed.
FIELD Study: Fenofibrate Reduces Uric Acid and Gout Risk
Lancet reports the results of the FIELD (Fenofibrate Intervention and Event Lowering in Diabetes) study - where fenofibrate was shown to reduce uric acid by 20%, gout events by nearly 50% and may be useful in preventing gout in diabetes.
Medicare Drug Prices Jump Ten Times the Inflation Rate
CNN reports that a new congressional analysis of Medicare drug pricing shows the prices of the 20 most commonly prescribed brand-name drugs have risen nearly 10 times the annual rate of inflation in the past five years.
Anakinra May Attenuate Stroke Outcomes
The journal Stroke has published a trial wherein the use of subcutaneous IL-1Ra (anakinra) was shown to reduce the peripheral inflammatory response in those with an acute ischemic stroke.
Chronic Knee Pain Linked to Depression
Chronic pain and depression are intimately linked, but Japanese researchers have found that up to 12% of knee osteoarthritis (OA) may develop depression and that such patients should be screened for depression over time.
