Bill Schu

A recent review looked at the underlying reasons for the care challenges still facing rheumatologists in treating lupus nephritis (LN). Among those, the review looks at how to better predict individual risk for LN in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus patient; identify optimal therapy for LN patients, and how to monitor immunologic activity for signs of persistent kidney damage.

Several states – including Delaware and Georgia – are beginning to take action to increase diagnosis and access to treatment for patients with hepatitis C. The news comes in the wake of several studies showing that patients are often denied treatment. In addition, a highly regarded health council recently asked the White House to remove the restrictions that Medicaid often places on costly treatments that effectively amount to a cure for the potentially deadly disease.

A pilot study found very promising results for treating actinic keratosis with an off-label usage of topical 5- fluorouracil (5-FU).

An analysis in Canadian Family Physician casts further doubt on the ability of marijuana to provide pain relief for patients with chronic noncancer pain (CNCP). Yet, in an accompanying editorial in the same issue, Roger Ladouceur, MD, Associate Scientific Editor of CFP, suggests that pain management specialists continue to prescribe it.

A series of physician guidelines for headache care recently published in Canadian Family Physician was aimed at family physicians but has applicability for physical and occupational therapists, nurses and practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, and psychologists, among others. The brevity of the guidelines is among its strengths, along with the breadth of issues for which care guidelines are listed.

Studies show that certain factors, including age, gender, and, importantly, location of treatment may contribute to the increased incidence of migraines.

Pain is pain, regardless of the race, gender, or ethnicity of the person experiencing it. But pain treatment may not be so blind. Some studies in adult patients have shown that ethnicity and race might be associated with disparities in analgesia and opioid treatment in Emergency Department (ED) patients with limb fractures. Fortunately, a study in The Annals of Emergency Medicine suggests that ethnic differences did not make a difference in pain treatment in a pediatric ED in northern Israel.

Middle-aged men with prediabetes are more likely than healthy peers to suffer from depressive symptoms and signs of andropausal syndrome.

Phototherapy is significantly underutilized, in part because it isn't adequately taught during core dermatology training.

Study results suggest that closely studying skin's dynamic behavior, including its changing characteristics over time, could yield significant clinical benefits for both dermatologists and surgeons.

Like every year, PAINWeek, which kicks off this week in Las Vegas, will include dozens of presentations on abuse and diversion. It is a topic that is always front and center for pain management practitioners, and one for which there are no easy answers.

A review article recently examined the evidence (or lack thereof) supporting the use of textiles, vitamin supplements, climatotherapy, probiotics, bleach baths, and other forms of complementary and alternative medicine for the treatment of atopic dermatitis.

An upcoming study will look at an experimental delirium prevention care system to see if it can be effective in either preventing or ameliorating delirium in older patients in a hospital setting, a report in Trials explains.

An article in Schizophrenia Bulletin makes a strong case for a scaling up of schizophrenia care that could yield breakthroughs in treatment for the condition and, ultimately, many other mental health disorders. Such a scaling up would involve breaking down significant barriers but could yield significant breakthroughs in treatment.

A study in JAMA Dermatology provides evidence that the use of two tests to assess cutaneous sarcoidosis disease severity should be expanded. The research has applications for dermatologists, rheumatologists, and pulmonologists, all of whom have a role in treating sarcoidosis.

Lidocaine metabolite N-ethylglycine (EG) relieves hyperalgesia and allodynia in animal models for chronic pain, suggests a study in Pain. The finding is an indicator that use of Glycine transporter 1 substrates might constitute a new drug target for the modulation of glycinergic inhibition in pain signaling.

A study in Translational Psychiatry has identified three potential genes that could prove to be responsible for disturbances in mitochondrial function and DNA repair mechanisms in bipolar disorder. The genes in question – POLG, OGG1, and NDUFV2 – may open new targets for examination. The study authors themselves consider the results to be "somewhat promising."

Children with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)/mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) often suffer from significant bouts of depression and potentially suicide ideation, a study in the Journal of Pediatrics determined.

A recent study in the Journal of Pain Research found that placing an electrical stimulation device properly doesn't necessarily increase the pain threshold for health patients subjected to transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). The finding is important because TENS is among many nonpharmacological interventions for pain around which clinical opinion on effectiveness is split.

A study in Postᶒpy adds to the growing evidence of a link between insulin and carbohydrate metabolism in the etiology and severity of acne vulgaris. While the clinical evidence on this connection is still disputed, the majority of recent studies has pointed to a significant connection between the condition and insulin levels.

Better understanding the relationship between bipolar disorder (BD) and circadian cycles can help establish new treatment protocols and treatment modalities, according to a review in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Research has established that various parts of the trigeminal system are responsible for peripheral symptoms of migraine. Treatment with corticosteroids reduces the symptoms of migraine, but the treatment is associated with long-term side effects.

A new study in BMC Public Health finds that neglect of skin wounds is an independent and strong risk factor for becoming a carrier of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), a dangerous pathogen that can cause infections and lead to life-threatening infectious diseases.

A long-term study of alemtuzumab for treatment of Behçet disease (BD) yields promising evidence that the monoclonal antibody can successfully treat refractory and relapsing courses of the disease.

Stress resulting from frequent migraine headaches may contribute to the development of medical and psychological comorbidities that can result in an ugly cycle of more migraines, according to a study in the Journal of Pain Research.

Two comprehensive reviews in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry looked at the use of pharmacologic therapy for psychiatric conditions during pregnancy and lactation. One review looked at mood stabilizers and the other focused on antidepressants, anxiolytics, and hypnotics.

A Japanese study suggests that parental bonding style during childhood is associated with the prevalence of chronic pain in adults in the general population and that the association is more robust for paternal bonding than for maternal bonding.

Three recent studies – in three very different publications – add to a growing cache of evidence showing that music can have significant benefits for patients with pain.

Yoga has shown to improve heart health and benefit patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Even those with breast cancer have gotten in on the action. A new study in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine provides evidence that yoga offers progressive beneficial anti-stress benefits to members of a prison population.

A recent review in Chronic Wound Care Management and Research suggests that wound pruritus is not well understood and is often poorly treated, despite nearly a century of clinical investigation. Irritations of the skin can be as distressing for patients as pain, the authors noted; yet, there is no established treatment protocol for wound pruritus.