Rheumatology

During the period of 1995 to 2007, the incidence of rheumatoid arthritis has risen in women, according to a published study in the journal of Arthritis & Rheumatism.

The American healthcare system is finally on the road to a modern national IT infrastructure. Recently, the iMedicalApps team had the opportunity to speak to a small but ambitious group of IT professionals who aim to be at the forefront of this modernization by targeting the physicians with the lowest penetration of electronic health records, those in smaller private practices.

Intent is to curb perceived and actual conflicts of interest.

After a trip to El Salvador, a woman experienced fever, malaise, and other symptoms. She had a history of a positive antinuclear antibodies test result, Raynaud phenomenon, and erythematous rash. The patient was hospitalized for pneumonia, and her symptoms persisted when she received antibiotics. Later her right ankle became red, swollen, and tender. Examination of the patient's extremities showed osteoarthritis changes.

An educational initiative aimed at eliminating ethnic and racial disparities in the diagnosis and management of lupus was launched recently by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) in conjunction with the US Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Minority Health, Office on Women’s Health, and Office of the Surgeon General.

A 25-year-old man was seen in the orthopedic clinic with a complaint of severe, exquisite pain at the ulnar aspect of the distal phalanx of his dominant right index finger. The pain had been present for 10 years, but he had not sought treatment.

Two aspects of pharmacology - drug exposure and sparing of COX-1 activity - may be the reasons why NSAID use can cause upper GI toxicity.

Ankle taping not only increases mechanical stability at the ankle joint during the performance of open sports tasks (in an unpredictable situation) but also provides protective benefits to the knee, according to researchers at Fremantle Hospital; the University of Western Australia; and other centers in Fremantle, Western Australia. Taping helps ankle stability by limiting motion and protects the knee by reducing internal rotation moments and varus impulses during both planned and unplanned maneuvers.

Walking with short, quick steps results in a small but significant increase in metabolic cost that may be beneficial for weight reduction or maintenance in obese persons and reduce the risk of knee osteoarthritis (OA), according to researchers at the Biomechanics and Energy Metabolism Laboratories, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Contrary to earlier reports, oral bisphosphonate use in older patients at high risk for osteoporosis does not appear to be associated with a significant risk of subsequent musculoskeletal pain.

Several occupational tasks are associated with symptomatic lower extremity osteoarthritis (OA). A variety of physically demanding tasks are associated with increased odds for knee OA andhip OA, and there is a particularly strong association with lifting tasks.

Higher levels of serum uric acid increase the risk of gout in women. However, the rate of increase is lower than that in men.

In patients who have early rheumatoid arthritis (RA), American College of Rheumatology (ACR) core set measures after 12 weeks of nonbiologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) treatment may predict the progression of articular destruction 2 years later.

ome psychological factors-helplessness and depression-account for significant variability in perceived disease activity in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

Operative treatment for patients with cervical spine fractures is associated with a lower mortality rate at 3 months but not 1 year postsurgery in patients who were between 65 and 74 years at the time of fracture.

New criteria for diagnosing fibromyalgia was proposed by the American College of Rheumatology. The criteria were published in the journal Arthritis Care & Research.

(AUDIO) How RA comorbidities might be addressed differently in light of new international task force recommendations is the subject of this discussion from Stephen A. Paget, MD, Chairman of the Division of Rheumatology at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.

The discovery of a natural molecule in the body that counteracts the progression of osteoarthritis could lead to new therapies for some common diseases.

Researchers at the University of Florida have developed a smart pill that sends notification when it has been swallowed. The pill contains an embedded microchip and has a printed, digestible antenna on the outside made of nontoxic, conductive silver lines.

Psychological factors such as pessimism about recovery and depression may be major predictors of chronic pain in trauma patients, according to results of a study by Australian researchers published in The Journal of Pain.

Val Jones, MD, founder and creator of the blog Better Health, and physician with DocTalker Family Medicine, a pay-as-you-go, time-based practice, discusses what it's like to be a physician in an unconventional practice. Jones, like many physicians at DocTalker, was a patient before asking to come aboard as a member.

New Way RA, an online talk show created for those living with rheumatoid arthritis, will begin its second season May 17.

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have found that restricting the flow of blood through the muscles moderately and temporarily in combination with low-level resistance exercise training can encourage muscle-mass increases in older men.

(AUDIO) Treatment targets have helped improve outcomes in other areas of medicine. Now an international task force has developed recommendations for RA. In a series of four podcasts, Stephen A. Paget, MD, Chairman of the Division of Rheumatology at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York and a Journal of Musculoskeletal Medicine editorial board member, will discuss the key points and implications regarding the use of biologic agents, managing RA comorbidities, future RA treatment, and health care reform. Part 1 focuses on the use of biologic agents.

A new control mechanism in the immune system has been discovered by researchers at the Swedish Medical University Karolinska Institutet. The mechanism may be useful in the treatment of diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and synaptic lupus erythematosus.

Dr. Pullen examines the importance of statistics in medicine, how the meaning of them can often be hard to interpret, and the need, perhaps, for more statistics courses in medical school.

IT news in healthcare this week has been a mixed bag. The industry is buzzing around Sebelius' announcement of 15 communities chosen to participate in a $200 million IT program.

This year marks the 20th annual week-long celebration of nurses.

It looks like NHIN Direct will provide a move toward a secure, Internet-based program to allow exchange of data in a more secure and useful way. Now the question is, "How fast and well can it be executed?" Being available yesterday would not be too soon.