Rheumatoid Arthritis

Changing the combination of existing drugs could help patients save thousands of dollars in annual prescription costs.

(ACR 2014) Encouraging real-life data to be presented at the ACR annual meeting suggest that at least some patients can safely discontinue biologics. But with the true meaning of remission still uncertain, it's not yet clear who they are.

For some patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, a full dose of medication may not be needed as the condition progresses.

White blood cells may be the cause of rheumatoid arthritis, according to a study from Northwestern Medicine.

Recent studies of targeted anti-inflammatory therapy show promise for helping patients with high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol levels.

A drug designed to treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis could also make them more susceptible to shingles, according to the results of a recent study.

The Accelerating Medicines Partnership in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus Network is a public-private partnership designed to accelerate research into more effective diagnostic and treatment approaches for these autoimmune diseases.

As any athlete or active person knows, the health of the cartilage in the knee can make the difference between comfortably moving around and pain that can stop you in your tracks. Researchers in Australia have recently discovered a stronger than expected link between knee cartilage and rheumatoid arthritis.

Researchers are testing promising new biologic agents that target different aspects of the inflammatory pathway in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

The choice of an appropriate disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) is complicated by the availability of several agents and the lack of comparative effectiveness studies. Until recently, the scientific consensus did not favor any agent over another as the most appropriate initial biologic DMARD for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

In recent years, introduction of biologic agents for treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has changed the landscape of RA management.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is responsible for premature mortality, disability, reduced quality of life, and higher health care costs in the United States.

Although not completely understood, the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis is thought to involve an external trigger (eg, trauma, cigarette smoke, infection) that induces an autoimmune reaction, resulting in synovial hypertrophy and chronic joint inflammation in persons who are genetically susceptible.

People who smoke and have more sodium in their diets than others could also be more likely to eventually develop rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a recent study.

For many patients with chronic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, medication adherence is often one of the most challenging aspects of the treatment process, especially when the medications prescribed by their health care professional are prohibitively expensive. A study from Manchester University recently showed that many patients with rheumatoid arthritis are not taking some of their most critical medicines due to rising drug costs.

Researchers at ETH Zurich who were studying mice with rheumatoid arthritis found a product that cured the animals of the condition as a precursor to what could be a much larger and beneficial discovery for humans. A statement from the company said the therapy is an "active substance consisting of two fused components."

Although tumor necrosis factor inhibitors have dramatically improved management strategies for autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, the biologic agents also pose a number of significant side effects that physicians must consider.

The US Food and Drug Administration recently announced its approval of a new medication for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

An endocrinologist from the University Hospital Basel in Switzerland discusses the role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes, outlining the reasons why clinicians should target inflammation when treating diabetics.

For patients enduring constant pain in their ankles caused by arthritis, there could be relief on the horizon as medical science works to develop better ankle replacement procedures.

Honey bee venom is being used to treat pain for multiple sclerosis and osteoarthritis, according to a report from CBS News.

Psoriatic arthritis is often associated with sleep disturbances, depression, and other comorbidities that can adversely affect a patient's ability to perform activities of daily living.

Rheumatoid arthritis patients have a 1-in-4 chance of developing chronic kidney disease, according to research published in the American Journal of Kidney Disease.

A new retrospective study suggests that patients with autoimmune disorders should be monitored for epilepsy, and vice versa.

A 58-year-old woman presented to clinic with concerns about this skin lesion on her upper chest. She reports it has been present for 1 year and is slowly enlarging. The lesion is otherwise asymptomatic and her past history is only significant for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), for which she takes methotrexate and etanercept.

Study results derived from animal immune system models of rheumatoid arthritis show that deactivating the B-lymphocyte protein PTP1B allows the B-cell to become more responsive.

The nutritionally skewed "Western" diet relies on processed foods that foster obesity and may even promote autoimmune diseases.

During their "Great Debate" keynote session of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 2013 Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA, two leading rheumatologists took direct aim at each other's significant clinical trial data to provide rationale for choosing biologics over triple therapy - or vice versa - as the treatment of choice for rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Though rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients have a significantly higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to the general population, results from a pair of studies show that the biologic disease modifier Actemra (tocilizumab) may actually improve the cardiovascular (CV) profiles of RA patients.

Although rheumatologists have an array of disease measurement tools to choose from, they generally choose to ignore all of them when they're assessing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.