Rheumatology

For patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), female gender and having a high proportion of disease activity score (DAS28) attributable to patient-reported components (joint tenderness and visual analog score) (DAS28-P) at baseline are predictive of less improvement in pain at one year.

African-American patients with systemic sclerosis have more severe complications than Caucasian patients, and these complications are related to the type of autoantibody and severity of lung disease.

Children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) have higher rates of hospitalized bacterial infection than children without the condition, and high-dose steroids significantly increase the rate of infection.

The American College of Rheumatology has produced new guidelines for the screening, treatment, and management of lupus nephritis.

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) activate a mechanism involving coupling of FAS/FAS ligand to induce T cell apoptosis and immune tolerance.

Overweight and obese patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have lower all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, but have substantially increased risks of comorbidities, medical costs, and reduced quality of life compared with normal-weight RA patients.

One-third of U.S. adults with physician-diagnosed arthritis report having anxiety or depression, with anxiety more prevalent than depression.

Pain catastrophizing, in particular ruminating about pain, has an indirect effect on clinical pain severity and pain-related interference, through sleep disturbance.

Obesity is linked with the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and seems to have contributed to the recent increase in incidence of the condition.

For patients with fibromyalgia, spatial extent of pain, pain aftersensation, and negative mood account for approximately one-third of the variance in clinical pain, but sleep measures do not significantly predict pain.

Pain coping strategies can significantly impact the physical symptoms and psychological distress experienced by patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

For patients taking cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors (coxibs), low adherence to gastroprotective agents (GPAs) increases the risk of upper gastrointestinal (UGI) complications.

For Hispanic patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), self-reported pain correlates most strongly with disability.

The incidence of upper and lower gastrointestinal (GI) events is higher among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as is the risk of mortality due to GI events, when compared to individuals without RA.

For inactive patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a three-month exercise training program is associated with improved chronotropic reserve and heart rate recovery.

The 2008 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) guidelines for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been updated for 2012.

More than 40 percent of patients with rheumatoid arthritis are inactive, with lack of motivation and lack of belief in physical activity strongly related to inactivity.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis are at higher risk of death from cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular causes if they discontinue statin treatment.

According to a report from the HHS, pediatric rheumatology is not represented among 30-40% of US medical schools and pediatric residency programs and, perhaps even more alarming, the report found that 13 states lack a single pediatric rheumatologist.

Thigh fat area and muscle density, but not muscle area, are indicators of disability and physical performance in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).