Rheumatology

Despite findings from other studies indicating that somnolence is a sometimes significant adverse effect in pregabalin use, this study suggests that it is statistically insignificant.

An international research team believes that its cluster analysis tool can be used to identify effective treatment modalities for a host of maladies using numerous different therapies.

All sensory areas were activated in the brains of fibromyalgia sufferers during pain stimuli according to brain scans made by University of Michigan researchers. Healthy controls showed littled to no activity.

RA patients identified through the Department of Veteran Affairs national administrative databases that were on anti-TNF therapy had a higher risk of developing non-melanoma skin cancer than those on non-biologic DMARDs.

Rheumatoid arthritis patients are experiencing less coronary heart disease than in years past, but heart failure rates, however, remain unchanged, puzzling researchers.

Avril Fitzgerald from University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, discussed the results from her study and how the primary care physicians and rheumatologists are perceiving the new scoring method.

During his keynote address, MDNG editorial board member Danny Sands really stressed the importance of empowering patients to learn about their health. "We need to make sure patients have access to knowledge," he said.

Though researchers continue to investigate exactly why, data indicates RA increases an individual's risk of lower GI bleeding or perforation, diverticulitis, lower GI ulcers, and appendicitis.

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is characterized by widespread chronic pain and tenderness. Persons with FMS are a diverse population, with widely variable symptom presentation and severity, as well as secondary symptoms. Because the symptoms are so diverse, diagnosis and management become challenging. Mounting evidence supports altered CNS processing of nociceptive stimuli as a mechanism.

The impetus for Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children’s switch to a centralized system came about because the hospital administrators wanted patients communicating with live people. An admirable goal for sure, but with only two live people available to take calls at anyone time, patients often ended up spending 15 minutes on hold waiting for a human voice, becoming frustrated and hanging up.

Initial use of methotrexate combined with sulfasalazine and hydroxychloroquine better controls rheumatoid arthritis at six months.

Prior studies of glucosamine and its role in the prevention of joint damage in knee OA have produced conflicting results, but a recent study found that the odds of worsening cartilage damage in a glucosamine group were the same as for patients given a placebo.

Despite being considered and at-risk group due to disease- and drug-induced immunosuppression, only one of two arthritic adults will receive a flu vaccination, according to a recent phone study.

Anti tumor necrosis factor therapy for rheumatoid arthritis appears to increase a patient's risk of developing septic arthritis, which is the infection of a joint, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Philadelphia, PA.

In a session that focused on potential adverse reactions to rheumatologic infusion therapies, Jacqueline M. Fritz, RN, MSN, CNS, Arthritis and Osteoporosis, La Palma, California, explained that infusion therapies take time to administer.

As the population ages and persons live longer with more medical comorbidities, the incidences of both gout and pseudogout will continue to increase. Uric acid metabolism is crucial to the pathogenesis of gout. Patients who have the arthritis associated with crystal-deposition disease typically present clinically with acute attacks of joint pain, swelling, and erythema and have asymptomatic periods between acute attacks.

Clinical study findings of recent years support the notion that patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) should be treated earlier and more aggressively. Monotherapy with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) is effective in some cases, but triple DMARD therapy is superior to double therapy or monotherapy in early or late RA. Leflunomide is at least as effective as methotrexate (MTX) and sulfasalazine and more effective than placebo.

I was out of town on business and had a 'slip & fall.' After many tries and many hours on the phone, Oxford could not direct us to a plan orthopedist—hand surgeon? Yes; Foot and ankle? Didn't happen. Ironically (or was it?), that bureaucratic hurdle saved them a bundle.

Researchers have concluded that evidence from their study showed “aerobic capacity training combined with muscle strength training is recommended as routine practice in patients with RA.”

At a healthcare forum hosted by Politics magazine, current and former members of Congress said they believed President Obama would sign some sort of a healthcare reform package, most likely later this year. “There would be too much political damage done if something doesn’t pass, so Congress will find a way,” said Congressman Michael Burgess, MD (R-TX).

Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) was a major cause of morbidity and mortality in past decades, but with the passage of time and medical advances, it faded from the forefront of clinical medicine and, in turn, from physicians' minds. However, a resurgence of ARF has been reported in the United States and the condition remains a significant health concern in the developing world.

A disruption in any part of the vitamin D physiological pathway can result in vitamin D deficiency, which may lead to bone pain, muscle weakness, falls, low bone mass, and fractures.

A pleomorphic hyalinizing angiectatic tumor (PHAT) is a rare soft tissue lesion that mainly affects superficial soft tissue in the lower extremities. PHAT is classified as a borderline/intermediate-grade soft tissue tumor because of the substantial risk of local recurrence.

A pay-for-performance (P4P) scheme based on meeting targets for the quality of clinical care introduced to family practice in England in 2004 accelerated improvements in quality for 2 of 3 chronic conditions in the short term. However, the initial acceleration in improvement was not sustained.

MRI may be used to monitor rotator cuff changes and guide management in long-term follow-up of patients with tears who are treated nonoperatively. Factors associated with tear progression include age older than 60 years, a full-thickness tear, and fatty infiltration of the rotator cuff muscles.

Adherence to healthy lifestyle factors is associated with a lower lifetime risk of heart failure in apparently healthy men compared with the general population. The lifetime risk is higher in men who have hypertension than in those who do not.

The severity scores of dyspepsia symptoms and dyspepsia-related quality of life disturbance are higher in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) than in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in healthy persons.