Katie Eder

While substantial evidence already shows several genetic and environmental elements factor into immune-mediated rheumatic disease susceptibility, a recent review of hospital admissions data suggests vitamin D deficiency can single-handedly elevate a patient's risk of developing certain chronic conditions within that group of disorders.

Research findings from a group of Midwest-based investigators suggest bipolar disorder (BD) is linked to different illness burdens in binge eaters compared to obese patients who do not experience compulsive episodes of uncontrollable overeating.

Though physicians are already aware that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) cause inflammation in joints, tendons, and surrounding muscle tissues, the effects of those chronic autoimmune disorders on stiffness, strength, and function of the patellar tendon have not yet been determined.

A pair of researchers based in Texas has gained valuable insight into the correlation between individual cell type in the tissues of gout patients and comorbidity factors of the chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorder.

Though recent reviews were unable to provide evidence of efficacy for several complementary treatments for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a group of researchers decided to clinically evaluate the effectiveness of static electric field therapy by high voltage alternating current (EF-HVAC) in the chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorder.

No studies had determined the genetic cause of early-onset gout cases until a group of Japanese researchers discovered a the same genomic dysfunction among the patients.

Though they conducted their analysis in China, four researchers have successfully demonstrated a link between babA2 gene and peptic ulcer disease (PUD) in Helicobacter pylori-infected populations within countries located on the Western Hemisphere.

Transforaminal epidural steroid injections (TFEI) have become a more common approach to relieving chronic lumbar radicular pain, but until now, no published clinical reports had directly compared morphine with tramadol for that indication.

Recognizing frustrations stemming from "the contested nature of the diagnosis, ineffective treatments, and a mismatch between general practitioner (GP) and patient explanatory models" for irritable bowel syndrome, a team of British researchers examined the tensions between how physicians approach IBS and what's currently recommended for diagnosing and managing the functional gastrointestinal disorder.

Following previous research that detected a greater risk of major depressive disorder development in HIV-infected patients, a new study examined the psychiatric condition's effect on adherence to antiretroviral therapy.

Although substantial investments are made in health information technology (HIT) to improve practice efficiency and patient care, widespread adoption of electronic prescribing continues to lag throughout the US and Canada, which is why one team of researchers sought to determine what variables predict the technology's successful integration in primary care settings.

Although many US hospitals tout quality improvement in surgical outcomes, new research findings released at the national conference of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) show that taking cancer operation performance into account would deliver a more accurate hospital rating.

Depression patients monitored by physicians and care managers in a collaborative model have better antidepressant medication use and clinical outcomes than those treated in a traditional primary care setting, according to a comparison of the two delivery methods published in the May 2013 issue of Clinical Practice & Epidemiology in Mental Health.

Primary care physicians rate more than 40 percent of hospitalizations resulting from ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (ACSCs) as avoidable with effective preventive care and disease management.

Although previous studies have already established that low serum sodium levels commonly occur in critically ill children who require hospitalization, a team of Polish researchers aimed to more closely evaluate the link between hyponatremia and the severity of a child's community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

With strong clinical evidence and adverse event reports linking Daiichi Sankyo's high blood pressure medication Benicar (olmesartan medoxomil) to the gastrointestinal condition known as sprue-like enteropathy, the US Food and Drug Administration has approved changes for the drug's label to include a warning about that risk.

Researchers at the Hanyang University College of Medicine set the record straight on the association between IBS symptoms and methane and hydrogen gas produced by intestinal fermentation of lactulose and excreted in the breath during lactulose breath test.

Researchers discussed new HIV vaccine developments in protecting antibodies capable of neutralizing many different strains of the virus and reviewed the comorbidity of HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Two male patients with prolonged HIV infection who received hematopoietic stem cell transplants still remain virus-free several consecutive weeks after their antiretroviral treatments were discontinued this spring.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded the indications of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp.'s transdermal therapy for Alzheimer's disease to include the treatment of patients with severe stages of the neurological disorder.

As pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) remains at the forefront of HIV prevention research, clinical trial investigators provided an update on recent oral and topical PrEP efficacy studies at the second plenary session of the 7th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2013), held June 30 to July 3 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Noven Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s once-daily Brisdelle (paroxetine) capsules to reduce moderate to severe hot flashes and night sweats that can last up to five years in menopausal women.

Recognizing that melatonin secretion from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract improves abdominal pain in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) but decreases with age, Polish researchers from the Medical University of Lodz aimed to define the effect of administering melatonin in postmenopausal women with different predominating IBS symptoms.

Results of a pair of phase 3 placebo-controlled clinical studies conducted by a worldwide team of researchers have deemed Merck's Isentress (raltegravir) antiretroviral treatment safe, tolerable, and effective in multidrug-resistant HIV patients who are naïve to integrase inhibitors.

Though it's common medical knowledge that an ulcer eating a hole through a patient's stomach requires immediate surgical treatment as a result of its life-threatening nature, new findings from a team of Danish researchers urge physicians to beat the clock in performing emergency surgery on perforated peptic ulcers (PPU).

Citing a need for new therapies to remedy serious diseases acquired in hospitals, the US Food and Drug Administration has expanded approval of Vibativ (telavancin) to treat bacterial pneumonia when alternative drugs aren't appropriate.

The US Food and Drug Administration has awarded "breakthrough therapy" status to a synthetic copy of a naturally occurring human hormone for the treatment of acute heart failure (AHF), drug developer Novartis announced today.

To help physicians take a step towards more personalized treatment for patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), the US Food and Drug Administration today approved a fully automated test that can distinguish the seven major HCV genotypes in an infected patient.

Nearly two years after Eli Lilly and Co. halted a pair of clinical trials on its gamma-secretase inhibitor for Alzheimer's disease following the candidate's failure to demonstrate results superior to placebo, the drug maker has terminated a phase 2 study of its investigational beta-secretase (BACE) inhibitor for the same neurological condition - this time citing liver abnormalities.

Researchers recommended long-term surveillance of patients with hyponatremia on discharge.