Rheumatology

Sustained disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD)-free remission occurs in about 10% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It can be predicted by several clinical variables that are assessed routinely in outpatient clinics.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors are being used for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) more aggressively and at a lower level of disease activity than in the past. Their use is greater in patients with established RA than in those with early RA.

The inter-rater reliability for 3 basic maneuvers of the Total Body Functional Profile is good among musculoskeletal health care providers of various disciplines

Reduced toe flexor strength and the presence of toe deformities increase the risk of falling in older persons, according to researchers at the Biomechanics Research Laboratory, University of Wollongong, in Australia

Persons who have patellofemoral pain (PFP) exhibit higher peak levels of patellofemoral stress than those who do not, according to work conducted at the University of Southern California's Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Research Laboratory (MBRL), and a long-term history of PFP in older adults yields a higher probability that patellofemoral osteoarthritis (OA) will occur.

An 81-year-old man with had a one-year history of right knee pain that had worsened in recent weeks despite no trauma or injury. What does the X-ray show?

New evidence-based musculoskeletal disease prevention and treatment guidelines for general practitioners have been issued by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP). Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and osteoarthritis guidelines have been released, and osteoporosis guidelines were expected to be available soon.

Researchers have discovered a new way to use the role of signaling molecules to inhibit another complex that plays a key role in the ‘turning on’ of genes “that cause the stem cell precursors of osteoclasts to mature and start eating bone,” a discovery that may lead to the formation of new rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis drugs.

I say we should let those who are screaming against the health insurance reform bills because they're "Socialist" opt out - not just from the bills, but also from ALL of "Socialism."

A new genetic test that can detect the presence of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) was launched on Tuesday, September 15, that may enable physicians to administer early treatment, lessening joint damage and decreasing inflammation, therefore reducing symptoms.

According to an article in the online news organization Huffington Post, physicians are increasingly bringing their views on healthcare reform into the examination room.

Even though many believe that everything possible was being done to help them and that they were given the most appropriate treatment, few patients believe thier medicines strong enough to provide relief.

Psychosocial work stress has been previously associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. New research now reveals that high work stress may actually decrease an individual's chance of developing inflammatory conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has released new guidelines for testing patients with suspected rheumatoid arthritis when more standardized tests have not conclusive.

Behçet syndrome is a multisystem disease characterized by variable clinical manifestations. The diagnosis is based on recognition of a group of clinical features.

An 84-year-old woman presented with pain and swelling in her knees and hands. She had a history of severe psoriasis and osteoarthritis. How can you make a differential diagnosis when OA may coexist with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, OA, and crystal arthritis? Read on to find out.

Three-dimensional (3D) computer motion analysis has emerged in recent years as a valuable diagnostic tool for elite athletes and coaches to combat injuries and maximize biomechanical function to improve athletic performance.

Check out these rheumatoid arthritis-related online resources.

To reduce injury risk and enhance their performance, baseball pitchers need to learn proper fastball mechanics at an early age

An Ameritox study found that of 938,586 urine toxicology tests administered to chronic pain patients over a three-year period, 11% detected major illicit drugs and 29% had a medication in their system that the patient's doctor was likely unaware of.

The precautionary recommendations for the H1N1 (swine) flu in persons with lupus currently are not different from those for the general public, according to the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA). However, because persons with lupus often are at increased risk for infections, especially if they are taking immunosuppressive agents, they should be particularly vigilant about taking the generally recommended precautions.

The seroprevalence of hepatitis is no higher in patients with recent-onset polyarthritis than in the general population. Therefore, screening patients for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection when evaluating them for polyarthritis suggestive of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is not useful.

In older persons who do not have dementia, stroke, or Parkinson disease, a lower frequency of participation in social activity is associated with more rapid motor function decline. Conversely, participation in a broad spectrum of late-life activities results in positive health outcomes.

In most patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the results of common laboratory testing-rheumatoid factor (RF), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP) level-are abnormal and may be used to support the diagnosis. However, a substantial proportion of patients with RA have normal test results.

A wider femoral neck and more medial centroid position of bone mineral in the femoral neck are associated with an increased risk of prevalent, incident, and progressive radiographic hip osteoarthritis (RHOA). These differences are detectable early in the natural history of hip OA.

The FDA is now requiring that stronger product warnings be included in the prescribing information of tumor necrosis factor-alpha blockers because of an increased risk of cancer in the children and adolescents who take them.

New research has found that patients with rheumatoid arthritis are likely to suffer from depression, which can, in turn, increase levels of pain associated with the disease.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis who do not respond well to methotrexate may benefit from ofatumumab, preliminary results from a Phase III trial show.

Although many medications are used for the management of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and its complications, only aspirin, corticosteroids, and the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) are specifically approved by the FDA.1 Most other medications used for SLE treatment are commercially available off label (Table 1), usually borrowed from cancer or transplant regimens. In some cases, medications have been approved for a specific clinical manifestation seen in both idiopathic disease and SLE, such as bosentan for pulmonary hypertension.

There have been significant advances in the management of rheumatologic disorders with the availability of newer disease-modifying drugs and biologic agents. However, cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality remain significantly increased in patients with rheumatologic disorders, especially rheumatoid arthritis (RA)1-4 and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).