"Eye of Newt" Leads Regenerative Therapy in Osteoarthritis
Regeneration of cartilage is the holy grail of osteoarthritis research.
News
Enthesitis Ultrasound as an Outcome Measure in Spondyloarthritis
Musculoskeletal ultrasound (US) was recently used in a longitudinal study Achilles enthesis of 146 patients with early spondyloarthritis (SpA). Usual measures of SpA activity included BASFI, BASRI-spine, BASDAI and Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS).
Thalamic Currents Underlie Sleep Problems in Fibromyalgia
Sleep disruption is a core feature of fibromyalgia. People with fibromyalgia exhibit sleep brain wave patterns often disrupted by brain waves that correspond to wakefulness.
Cancer Risk Is Both Increased and Decreased in RA
Rheumatoid arthritis patients are often said to have no or a low risk of cancer.
Priorities for NIAMS Research Funding
Dr. Steven Katz describes how NIAMS sets priorities for investing congressionally-appropriated funds.
More On ICD-10
Dr. Marty Bergman (see prior article) writes to remind rheumatologists that the October 1 deadline is for the date of service. If you see the patient on September 30th, but don't bill it until October 4th, you need to use ICD-9 codes.
Patients Unaware that Smoking Worsens IBD
Smoking is a well-known inciting or exacerbating factor in many inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
Long-Term Safety of Rituximab
Rituximab has been used for years with good efficacy, but with several safety concerns. Van Vollenhoven and colleagues have published the cumulative clinical trial safety experience of RTX wherein 3595 patients 1–20 (average - 4) courses over 11 years [14,816 patient-years (PY)].
Rheumatologists are Not Always Aligned with 2012 ACR Gout Guidelines
A cross-sectional survey of 309 Brazilan rheumatologists was performed to assess their compliance with the 2012 ACR guidelines on gout.
Alemtuzumab Effective in Behcet's Syndrome
Behcet's disease is difficult to treat and often has an over-reliance on corticosteroid use. Alemtuzumab (previously known as Campath-1H) has been studed in patients with Behcet's.
NSAIDs and the Risk of Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Your patient with Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis has a musculoskeletal problem that needs treatment. You consider a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, but are reminded that “NSAIDs are to be avoided as these drugs will worsen inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)”.
Osteoarthritis Update August 2015
Different Phenotypes for Osteoarthritis of the Foot. Osteoarthritis is often characterized as either a symmetric polyarticular (often involving DIPs, PIPs and CMC1), asymmetric oligoarticular or monarticular (knee or hip OA), but OA may also affect the foot.
