The HCPLive Rheumatology condition center page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on rheumatologic disease. This page consists of interviews, articles, podcasts, and videos on the research, treatment and development of therapies for arthritis, gout, nr-AxSpA, and more.
May 1st 2024
FDA approves label update for voclosporin (Lupkynis) in lupus nephritis, reflecting long-term AURORA data and new kidney function monitoring guidance.
"REEL" Time Patient Counseling™: Integrating Biosimilars into the Clinical Conversation
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Cases and Conversations™: Keeping Up with Novel Approaches to Managing ANCA-Associated Vasculitis
November 2024
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EGPA: Highlighting the Patient Journey to Improve the Differential Diagnosis and Accelerate the Initiation of Guideline-Based Care
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Expert Illustrations & Commentaries™: Envisioning Novel Therapeutic Approaches to Managing ANCA-associated Vasculitis
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Clinical Consultations™: Optimal Approaches to Recognizing and Treating ANCA-Associated Vasculitis
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Wearable technology provides ready-made monitoring for musculoskeletal rehabilitation
May 6th 2009Musculoskeletal rehabilitation student researchers at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston are developing wearable monitoring systems that will allow physicians to monitor patient activity and physiology remotely over extended periods.
Tests help identify early cardiovascular disease
May 4th 2009A carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) evaluation can detect subclinical vascular disease in patients who have a low Framingham risk score (FRS) and a coronary artery calcium score (CACS) of 0. Two specific tests can identify early subclinical atherosclerosis: ultrasonography and CT.
Axial gout may be more common than it appears
May 4th 2009The frequency of axial gout may be much higher than previously known, and it may occur in the absence of back pain. Physicians often are unaware of the potential existence of axial involvement in patients with gout, and the diagnosis may be missed even when CT scanning is obtained.
Chondroitins could be disease-modifying agents for knee osteoarthritis
May 4th 2009Long-term administration of chondroitins 4 and 6 sulfate (CS) can prevent joint structure degradation in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Reduced loss of joint-space width (JSW) might be predictive of better OA outcomes.
Osteoporotic fractures associated with increased mortality risk
May 4th 2009There is increased mortality risk associated with all major osteoporotic fractures in patients of all ages and even with minor fractures in older patients for 5 to 10 years after the fracture. A subsequent fracture results in an increased risk for an additional period.
Patients with RA have high familial risk of other autoimmune diseases
April 3rd 2009There is extensive genetic sharing between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other autoimmune and associated diseases. Such sharing is evidenced by high familial risks of discordant autoimmune diseases in parents and offspring, singleton siblings, twins, and spouses.
Managing Plantar Fasciitis and Other Heel Pain
April 2nd 2009Heel pain (calcaneodynia) is most commonly due to plantar fasciitis, but has many other causes including nerve entrapment, stress fracture, and sciatica. This review describes an overall approach to diagnosis, discusses conservative treatments and highlights the most prevalent surgical procedures.
Quadriceps strength protects against cartilage loss in knee osteoarthritis
March 28th 2009Greater quadriceps strength protects against cartilage loss at the lateral compartment of the patellofemoral joint in persons with knee osteoarthritis (OA), and persons with greater quadriceps strength are likely to have less knee pain and better physical function. Greater quadriceps strength has no influence on cartilage loss at the tibiofemoral joint.
Exercise improves metabolic syndrome in older women
March 27th 2009A high-intensity strength and endurance exercise program has an impact on a variety of parameters of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in older women. General-purpose exercise programs primarily designed to reduce bone fracture risk also are effective in reducing coronary heart disease risk factors.
Inflammatory lesions in ankylosing spondylitis predict new syndesmophytes
March 21st 2009In patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), the presence of an active inflammatory lesion at the vertebral corner on MRI is associated with development of new syndesmophytes at the corresponding vertebral corner visible on plain radiography, suggesting a relationship between inflammation and ankylosis. New syndesmophytes will develop from a previous active inflammatory lesion even when the lesion has resolved on follow-up MRI after the start of anti-tumor necrosis factor a (anti–TNF–α) therapy.
Fibromyalgia initiative promotes early, accurate diagnosis
March 21st 2009An outcomes-based fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) education program is designed to provide physicians and other health care professionals with a broad range of useful information about the disease and thus promote earlier, more accurate diagnosis.
Knee osteoarthritis treatment update: New clinical practice guideline
March 15th 2009Treatment for patients who have osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee always should be tailored to individual patients after they have had discussions with their physician, according to a new American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) guideline.
Barriers are biggest predictor of adherence in fibromyalgia treatment
March 14th 2009The main predictor of adherence to a multimodal treatment program for patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is barriers, such as lack of time, too much effort, stressful events, and fatigue. Because barriers are important for adherence and adherence is related to outcomes, using a questionnaire about barriers is recommended as a basis for discussing them with patients.
High ankle sprains require a high index of suspicion
December 1st 2008ABSTRACT: High ankle sprains are not as common as low anklesprains, but they are a significant injury, and the diagnosis may bechallenging. The primary role of the syndesmosis is to maintain therelationship of the talus to the tibia under physiological loads.Toaccomplish this, the distal tibiofibular joint must maintain its stability.The syndesmosis is injured most often with external rotation at theankle joint while the foot is dorsiflexed and pronated. On physicalexamination, tenderness is located in the area of the anterior syndesmosis.There are several special tests for syndesmosis injuries.Radiographic assessment is helpful. The usefulness of classificationsystems is not well defined. The optimal rehabilitation programis unknown. Rehabilitation generally is divided into phases.(J Musculoskel Med. 2008;25:564-569)
RA, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes links highlight conference
November 29th 2008Links between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes mellitus (DM) highlighted the research findings reported at the recent American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Annual Scientific Meeting in San Francisco.