Related Articles Results

Wednesday Apr 21, 2010
GSK and Human Genome's Lupus Drug Fails to Meet Secondary Endpoint in Phase III Trial
Effects of the lupus drug Benlysta (belimumab) appear to wane over time...

Wednesday Apr 07, 2010
Surgeons Turn to Complex Spinal Procedures Despite Hazards
Complex surgical procedures to treat back pain have soared in popularity in recent years, but experts say they pose greater risks with no more benefits...

Wednesday Mar 31, 2010
Fibromyalgia Symptoms May be Alleviated by Short Bursts of Physical Activity
Lifestyle physical activity intervention may reduce fibromyalgia symptoms and improve physical function...

Tuesday Mar 23, 2010
President Obama Signs Landmark Health Care Bill Into Law
The historic bill is the most sweeping social legislation to be enacted in decades, and will overhaul the nation's $2.5 trillion health care system...

Wednesday Feb 17, 2010
AstraZeneca to Enter the RA Market
AstraZeneca is entering the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) market by gaining rights to Rigel’s RA drug...

Thursday Nov 19, 2009
French Government Buys Into Naproxinod
NicOx has submitted an NDA for naproxinod for osteoarthritis, and is raising $149 million for the launch...

Thursday Nov 12, 2009
Bristol Set to Challenge Roche for RA IL-6 Blockers
Bristol-Myers Squibb has licensed RA indications for Alder's ALD518 anti-IL-6 monoclonal...

Wednesday Oct 21, 2009
Phase 2 Data Support Pfizer's JAK Inhibitor for RA
Two Phase 2 trials reported at ACR show efficacy of JAK inhibitor now in Phase 3...

Monday Oct 19, 2009
Experts Call for Early Intervention with Hip Scopes
As presented at the annual meeting of the International Society for Hip Arthroscopy, earlier intervention is better when it comes to joint-sparing hip operations...

Thursday Oct 15, 2009
To Scope or Not to Scope in Hip Patients Over 60
Hip arthroscopy may benefit some patients aged 60 and older with femoroacetebular impingement...

Thursday Oct 01, 2009
MRI Can Show Joint Damage in Early Gout
For patients with gout but normal plain radiographs, MRI is more sensitive than ultrasound for detecting early gout, but what to do with that information is unclear...

Tuesday Sep 29, 2009
Fibromyalgia Goes Legit
Better understanding of the brain chemistry anomalies in fibromyalgia have paved the way toward more effective treatments for this pain disorder...

Tuesday Sep 08, 2009
RA Drug Array ARRY-162 Fails in Phase 2
A new rheumatoid drug from Array BioPharma that modulates the MEK pathway did not meet Phase 2 efficacy goals...

Wednesday Aug 12, 2009
So You Think You Can Dance After Hip Replacement? You Can!
Orthopaedic surgeons are realizing that patients are never too young or too old to undergo total hip arthroplasty...

Tuesday Aug 11, 2009
Untreated Depression May Dim RA TNF Inhibitor Response
Persistent depression affects RA patients' response to anti-TNF treatment...

Thursday Jul 23, 2009
Gene Therapy Cleared in RA Patient Death
The vector used in an RA gene therapy study did not cause the death of a patient who died during the trial...

Thursday Jun 25, 2009
Pegloticase Shrinks Tophi Even in Resistant Gout
Pegloticase significantly reduced tophus size in 40% of treatment-failure gout patients...

Tuesday Jun 23, 2009
MMF Effective, Safe for Proliferative as well as Membranous Lupus Nephritis
Mycophenolate mofetil (CellCept) may be as effective as, yet safer than, cyclophosphamide for the proliferative lupus glomerulonephritis...

Tuesday Jun 16, 2009
Infliximab Still Going Strong At 7 Years for RA Treatment
Infliximab efficacy and safety are maintained through at least 7 years of use for rheumatoid arthritis treatment...

Monday Jun 15, 2009
Waxman Wants to Let FDA OK Biosimilars Without Legal Authority
Rep. Henry Waxman asks White House to let FDA approve generic biologics...

Friday May 29, 2009
NIH Pops $24M into Orphan Diseases Research
NIH will put $24 million into a new program for developing drugs for rare and neglected diseases...

Tuesday May 19, 2009
Improved Hip Implants Can Last 20 Years
Cement-less components for total hip replacements can last twice as long as previous versions, allowing younger patients to qualify as candidates for hip replacements...

Friday May 15, 2009
FDA Going Back for Second Look At Menaflex
The US FDA, responding to criticism about the Menaflex approval process, is planning to take another look...

Tuesday May 12, 2009
Obesity, Arthritis Blamed for Disability in Women
Females are at greater risk of obesity and arthritis than their male counterparts and these disabling conditions begin early and can rob women of their quality of life...

Thursday Apr 30, 2009
Minimally Invasive Knee Replacement? Sometimes.
Minimally invasive knee arthroplasty may be appropriate for select patients when performed by an experienced surgeon...

Monday Apr 27, 2009
Two Big Steps for Lupus Nephritis Research
Genes that encode CXCR4/CXCL12 and kallikrein help determine whether lupus patients will develop kidney damage...

Wednesday Apr 22, 2009
After 80, Weightlifting Does Not Grow Muscles
Three months of weight lifting did not increase muscle mass in octogenarian women, although they were able to lift more weight...

Tuesday Apr 21, 2009
Lupus Damage at 10 Years Predicts Mortality
More than half of all lupus patients accrue damage within 10 years of their diagnosis, and these patients are at greater risk for death as a result...

Wednesday Apr 15, 2009
Reconstruction Recommended for Some Shoulder Separations
Experts differ on which type III shoulder separations need surgery...

Thursday Apr 09, 2009
Rituximab May Help Some Severe Lupus Nephritis Cases
Rituximab treatment that achieves early B-cell depletion in cases of severe lupus nephritis can induced complete or partial remission in 60% of patients...

Wednesday Apr 08, 2009
FDA Warns Pharma on "Sponsored Links"
FDA has warned 14 pharmaceutical companies about the brief ads that accompany internet search results...

Monday Mar 30, 2009
Hyaluronic Acid Not Useful in Hip OA
A single injection of hyaluronic acid was no better than placebo for hip OA...

Friday Mar 27, 2009
Fablyn^® OK'ed in EU for Osteoporosis, Still on Hold in US
Pfizer-Ligand's Fablyn^® (lasofoxifene) has been approved by European regulators, just months after failing to win FDA approval in the US...

Thursday Mar 26, 2009
Firefly Protein Lights Up Lupus Imaging
Bioluminescent imaging of NF-kB pinpoints inflamed sites long before symptoms appear in a mouse model of lupus and is likely to speed development of treatments for early disease...

Friday Mar 20, 2009
"Inner Space" Debris Triggers Joint Implant Failure
Immune reactions to metal debris from joint replacements triggers immune-mediated joint failure...

Thursday Mar 19, 2009
Actemra Blamed for 15 Deaths in Japan
Actemra (tocilizumab, Roche/Chugai) may have caused 15 deaths in RA patients treated in Japan over the past 10 months...

Tuesday Mar 17, 2009
New Laser for Psoriasis Aims to Cut Treatment
The excimer laser, best known for its use in eye surgery, is providing some patients with relief from their psoriasis...

Wednesday Mar 04, 2009
Drop of Collagenase Provides Non-Surgical Fix for Dupuytren's Disease
A nonsurgical approach using a drop of collagenase to weaken the tissue cord that causes hand contractures in Dupuytren's disease is headed for FDA review...

Monday Mar 02, 2009
Early Screening, Osteoporosis Treatment Needed to Reduce Hip Fracture Rates
Early osteoporosis screening and treatment are being pushed worldwide as orthopaedic surgeons try to stem the tide of hip fractures in aging populations...

Thursday Feb 12, 2009
Strength Training Bests Conventional Rehab After Knee Replacement
A progressive quadriceps strengthening program may help total knee arthroplasty patients approach the functional level seen among healthy peers...

Wednesday Feb 11, 2009
Cementless Hip Replacements: Still Sturdy After 20 Years
Hip replacements done with cementless metal cups can last up to 20 years after revision arthroplasty and even longer when used for primary hip arthroplasty...

Friday Jan 30, 2009
Psoriasis Gene Studies Fill In More Pieces of the Puzzle
New genetics data suggest novel approaches to psoriasis treatment...

Monday Jan 26, 2009
4 Factors in Lupus Noncompliance
Lupus patients cite specific reasons for taking (or not taking) their meds. Changes in physician-patient communications might fix some of these problems...

Wednesday Jan 21, 2009
FDA Grounds Pfizer's Fablyn Osteoporosis Drug
Pfizer's Fablyn (lasofoxifene) is still on hold as FDA seeks more safety data...

Tuesday Jan 13, 2009
Pilates Favorite: Multifidus Emerges As Key Muscle for Preventing Back Pain
The little multifidus muscle, beloved of Pilates exercise instructors but largely ignored in other settings, turns out to be key to spinal stability...

Thursday Jan 08, 2009
BioMarin Bets $289 Million That Riquent Works in Lupus Nephritis
BioMarin has bet $289 million that the third time is the charm for La Jolla Pharmaceutical's experimental lupus drug Riquent^® (abetimus sodium), which failed to reach primary endpoints in 2 previous clinical trials...

Tuesday Jan 06, 2009
Forget Knee OA Glucosamine, Orthotics—Lose Weight, AAOS Says
New knee arthritis guidelines from the premier American orthopaedics society say that glucosamine and/or chondroitin, custom-made shoe foot orthotics, and needle lavage are basically useless for the treatment of knee OA, but losing weight helps...

Monday Dec 15, 2008
Diabetes Drugs Double Fracture Risk
Long-term use of a popular class of oral diabetic drugs doubles the risk of fractures in women with type 2 diabetes...

Monday Dec 08, 2008
Say Goodbye to Plantar Fasciitis After 15-Minute Treatment
Combining an ultrasound-guided dry needling technique with steroid injection is 95% effective at relieving plantar fasciitis within 3 weeks...

Monday Dec 08, 2008
Medtronic Challenges Lawsuit Over Spinal Implant
The family of a woman who died after having neck surgery with Infuse Bone Graft is suing Medtronic, the maker of the spinal implant, for promoting off-label use of their device...

Monday Nov 24, 2008
Scleroderma Stem Cell Transplants Advance, Phase III Studies Recruiting Patients
Pilot data on systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients treated with autologous stem cell transplants suggest durable improvements in skin thickening and lung function. Phase III randomized trials are still open to enrollment...

Wednesday Nov 12, 2008
Pegloticase Offers Hope to Patients With Worst Types of Gout
Pegloticase (Puricase^®, Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) performed well in two Phase III studies...

Tuesday Nov 11, 2008
For Women, Red Flags About a Hip Device
Hip resurfacing is a popular alternative to traditional hip replacement surgery, but data is beginning to indicate that the technique has a significant failure rate in women…

Monday Nov 03, 2008
Tanezumab Reduces Moderate-Severe OA Pain in Phase II Trial
The nerve-growth-factor blocker tanezumab given once every 8 weeks significantly reduced knee OA pain in a phase 2 trial...

Wednesday Oct 29, 2008
Lupus Kidney Failure Rate Skyrocketing in Black Women
For the first time, African Americans, who comprise 13% of the US population, account for nearly half of all cases of kidney failure due to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Most affected are black women, whose risk of end-stage renal disease due to lupus nephritis is nearly 10 times that of white women...

Tuesday Oct 28, 2008
Syk Kinase Inhibitor R788 (Tamatinib fosdium) Achieves  ACR20 Response Rates Over 60% in Phase II Trial
The oral Syk kinase inhibitor R788 achieved impressive efficacy in a phase II RA trial...

Monday Oct 27, 2008
JAMA Biologicals Safety Data Show Impact of What Supreme Court Will Decide in Wyeth v Levine
Nearly one-quarter of biological drugs wind up with additional health warnings within a few years of reaching the market. Experts say this illustrates the importance of a coming US Supreme Court decision on whether FDA approval shields companies from liability for harm caused by approved agents and devices...

Tuesday Oct 21, 2008
Centocor Reports Efficacy of Remicade^® vs Azathioprine in Treatment of Crohn’s Disease
Azathioprine is not approved in the US for the treatment of CD but is approved in some countries outside the US and is widely used by gastroenterologists and other physicians in the US to treat CD patients...

Monday Oct 20, 2008
Bone Health Organizations Around the Globe Mark World Osteoporosis Day
October 20th is World Osteoporosis Day, which is the launch of a campaign to mobilize public opinion to generate change in osteoporosis healthcare policies…

Monday Oct 13, 2008
Unclear How Much Pounding New Hips, Knees Can Take
1 in 75 knee or hip replacement patients must have their artificial joint replaced within 3 years of their first surgery...

Friday Oct 03, 2008
Occupational Therapy May Help OA Patients Get Moving
Occupational therapy may help get patients with knee and hip osteoarthritis (OA) lead more active lives…

Wednesday Oct 01, 2008
Roche Says US FDA Issues Complete Response Letter for Actemra^® Biologics License Application; No New Clinical Studies Requested
Actemra^® (tocilizumab) is the first humanized interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor-inhibiting monoclonal antibody studied for the treatment of adults with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis...

Wednesday Oct 01, 2008
Glucosamine/Chondroitin Stumbles Again in GAIT II Study of Knee OA Progression
2-year data from the GAIT trial show no significant effect of glucosamine with or without chondroitin sulfate on progression of joint damage...

Tuesday Sep 30, 2008
Microparticles May Be Big Players in Systemic Scleroderma Disease Activity
Microparticles—small, membrane, coated vesicles—found in the blood of systemic scleroderma patients might not be inert debris…

Monday Sep 29, 2008
Pegloticase May be Just What the Rheumatologist Ordered for Treatment-Resistant Gout
Treatment-resistant gout may have finally met its match with a new, urate-lowering drug...

Tuesday Sep 23, 2008
Rheumatologists Advised to Test For, Treat H. Pylori to Stop Ulcers in NSAID Users
The role of H. pylori in the pathogenesis of NSAID-induced gastroduodenal lesions is controversial, but the treatment is not…

Friday Sep 12, 2008
BioCryst Reports Results From Phase IIa Trial of PNP Inhibitor in Psoriasis; No Evidence of Clinical Efficacy
BCX-4208 is a potent, rationally-designed, inhibitor of PNP—a purine salvage pathway enzyme that is essential for the proliferation of activated T-cells...

Thursday Sep 11, 2008
Total Ankle Replacements are Coming Into their Own—Finally
Total ankle replacements are expected to soon rival hip and knee replacements in design, function, and durability. Airbags and seatbelts contribute to growing demand…

Tuesday Sep 09, 2008
Can-Fite Reports that Seikagaku Corp, Exclusive Licensee of CF101 in Japan, is to Initiate Phase I Trial in Japan to Treat RA; Can-Fite to Receive $1 Million USD
CF101, Can-Fite’s lead compound, is an oral drug that has been successfully used in animal models and human phase IIa RA trials to test the concept of targeting A(3)AR for the treatment of inflammatory diseases...

Tuesday Sep 02, 2008
Success Rate Rising of Transplants Using Donor Tissues
Despite hurdles such as high costs and the dangers of immunosuppression following surgery, composite tissue allotransplantation (CTA) is becoming a more popular procedure…

Friday Aug 29, 2008
Ligaments Tie Together OA Pathology
Ligaments are emerging as the key to understanding why osteoarthritis develops in nontraumatized joints...

Thursday Aug 28, 2008
Mesoblast Reports Preclinical Study Shows Allogeneic Stem Cells in Ewes are Safe, Effective for Cervical Spine Fusion; Therapy May Receive Boost From US FDA’s Recent Alert of Life-Threatening Complications Associated With rhBMP in Cervical Spine Fusions
Mesoblast is currently in phase II clinical trials for fusion of the lumbar spine and, based on these new results, will extend its market opportunity to cover the entire spectrum of spinal fusion. Subject to FDA approval, Mesoblast's therapy will eliminate the need for autograft...

Thursday Aug 14, 2008
Are More Vioxx-Like Drug Catastrophes Inevitable?
Sociologist predicts growing numbers of drug safety disasters because of fatal flaws in the way new drugs are tested and marketed…

Monday Aug 11, 2008
Hollis-Eden Initiates Phase I/II Clinical Trial With TRIOLEX™ (HE3286) in RA
Hollis-Eden's investigational, nonimmunosuppressive oral drug candidate Triolex™ (HE3286), a stabilized, synthetic analog of a naturally occurring molecule metabolized by the body, is being tested in patients diagnosed with RA who are receiving a stable dose of MTX...

Thursday Aug 07, 2008
Heart Risks Rise With Revision or Bilateral Joint Arthroplasty
Patients who undergo revision or bilateral joint arthroplasty are at significantly higher increased risk for heart attack or heart failure than patients who undergo their first replacement of a single knee or hip…

Monday Aug 04, 2008
Manhattan Pharmaceuticals Reports Phase IIa Results of PTH (1-34) for Psoriasis; Cream is Well Tolerated but No Significant Improvement in Treated Lesions Compared With Vehicle
Data from from the phase IIa clinical study of a reformulated topical PTH (1-34) for the treatment of psoriasis did not demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in the overall disease severity of treatment lesions or signs and symptoms of psoriasis compared with vehicle gel...

Friday Aug 01, 2008
Roche Reports US FDA Advisory Committee Recommends Approval of Actemra^®; if Approved, Would Be First IL-6 Inhibitor for the Treatment of RA
Hoffmann-La Roche announced that the Arthritis Advisory Committee of the US FDA recommended approval of Actemra^® (tocilizumab), a novel interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor-inhibiting humanized monoclonal antibody...

Tuesday Jul 29, 2008
Complaints Undermine Hip Device
Sales of the Durom cup, an artificial hip socket, have been suspended following complaints by doctors of a high failure rate…

Thursday Jul 24, 2008
Adenosine Receptor Variant Might Be Pharmacogenetic Marker for RA Methotrexate Toxicity Risk
The discovery that variants of the adenosine receptor 2a gene (ADORA2a) are associated with methotrexate toxicity may help identify rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who should be treated with something else...

Tuesday Jul 15, 2008
Wyeth Reports European Commission Announces Marketing Authorization for 50 mg Once-Weekly Enbrel^® (etanercept) for Patients With Moderate-to-Severe Psoriasis
The European Commission announced a new 50 mg Enbrel^® (etanercept) once-weekly dosage regimen as an alternative to the currently approved 25 mg Enbrel twice-weekly regimen for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis...

Thursday Jul 10, 2008
Merck Serono Reports EMEA Confirms Positive Benefit-Risk Balance With Raptiva^® for the Treatment of Psoriasis; European Commission Approved Product Information Update to Include Data on Up to 3 Years of Treatment
The European Commission has approved an update of the Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) for Raptiva^® (efalizumab) in the treatment of moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis...

Thursday Jul 03, 2008
Heel Ultrasound Improves Osteoporosis Diagnosis
A heel quantitative ultrasound coupled with an assessment of specific osteoporosis-related risk factors in patients can help doctors predict fracture risk and decide who would need further screening with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)…

Wednesday Jul 02, 2008
Bush Administration Freezes Medicare Fee Cuts
DHHS has temporarily frozen the 10.6% Medicare fee cut that had been set to take effect after July 1...

Tuesday Jul 01, 2008
Heel Ultrasound Helps Detect Fracture Risk
Researchers were able to assess which women are at a higher risk of hip fracture by combining the results of a heel ultrasound with known risk factors for osteoporotic fractures…

Thursday Jun 26, 2008
New ACR Guidelines Help Clinicians Incorporate Biologics Into RA Treatment Plans
The new American College of Rheumatology guidelines help rheumatologists to choose the right drugs and to monitor RA patients for untoward effects, but the guidelines should not replace sound clinical judgment…

Friday Jun 20, 2008
Longitudinal MRI Study Confirms that Rituximab Stops Progression in RA, Suggests Some Regression
Imaging studies done 1 year after rituximab (RTX) treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) confirm that progression of joint damage was stopped, and suggest that there may even have been some regression of established damage...

Thursday Jun 19, 2008
Stem Cells Might Treat Tough Fractures
Adult stem cells may be the key to healing broken bones that fail to mend properly on their own…

Wednesday Jun 18, 2008
Rigel Launches Two Global Phase IIb Clinical Trials of Syk Inhibitor, R788 (fostamatinib disodium), in RA
Rigel currently has small-molecule product development programs in inflammatory/autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, thrombocytopenia, and asthma...

Tuesday Jun 17, 2008
Tocilizumab Plus Methotrexate Shows Efficacy for Anti-TNF Refractory Rheumatoid Arthritis
Tocilizumab plus methotrexate (MTX) looks to be an effective alternative for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with inadequate response to TNF inhibitors...

Monday Jun 16, 2008
Belimumab is Back: New Criteria Show Activity in SLE
The humanized monoclonal antibody belimumab showed significant activity in the extension of a phase II clinical trial for SLE as measured by new, FDA-approved assessment criteria...

Monday Jun 16, 2008
Phase III Data Show Golimumab Efficacy in MTX-Resistant, TNF-Pretreated, Untreated RA
Data from the phase III GO-FORWARD and GO-BEFORE studies show that subcutaneous golimumab improves symptoms, function in RA patients after MTX, anti-TNF failure...

Tuesday Jun 10, 2008
B-Cell Subset May Identify RA Patients at Risk for Relapse After Rituximab
A memory B-cell subset that could be readily monitored from peripheral blood samples might help identify RA patients who need early re-treatment with rituximab to prevent RA relapse...

Friday May 30, 2008
Rituximab May Be First Choice Biologic for Some RA Patients
Rituximab may be a reasonable first-line biologic choice for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who are not candidates for tumor necrosis factor α (TNF) blockers…

Thursday May 22, 2008
Bone Pain Can Be a Sign of Myeloma
Patients who report bone pain should be checked for myeloma, a treatable form of bone marrow cancer

Monday May 12, 2008
Rituximab OK Following Anti-TNF-Associated TB
Rituximab is both safe and effective in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who have had active TB while being treated with a TNF-α inhibitor...

Friday May 09, 2008
Treating Early RA With Intensive Step-Up Triple-DMARDs is as Good Starting 3 At Once—Perhaps as Effective as Biologics
Intensive triple therapy with conventional DMARDs in early active RA is as effective as a step-up regimen and is as effective as when all 3 drugs are started together, and both approaches can achieve response rates as high as those seen with biologics…

Thursday May 01, 2008
Genentech, Biogen Idec Report Phase II/III Trial of Rituxan^® Fails to Meet Primary or Secondary Endpoints in Lupus
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter phase II/III study of Rituxan^® (rituximab) for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) did not meet its primary endpoint or any of the six secondary endpoints...

Wednesday Apr 30, 2008
Grim Picture Painted for Lupus 5-Year Mortality Risk
Despite some advances in treatment, recently diagnosed lupus patients still face elevated risks of death within 5 years of their diagnosis when compared with lupus-free controls…

Tuesday Apr 29, 2008
Alendronate Linked to Atrial Fibrillation
A case-control study reports that women who have used alendronate are nearly twice as likely to develop atrial fibrillation as those who have never used bisphosphonates...

Monday Apr 21, 2008
Loop Diuretics Pose Osteoporosis Risk for Older Men
Loop diuretics greatly increase hip bone loss in men over age 65...

Thursday Apr 17, 2008
Skyrocketing Rates of Hip and Knee Replacements May Tax Healthcare System
The US healthcare system should brace itself for an exponential increase in the number of primary and revision joint arthroplasties and their associated costs…

Tuesday Apr 15, 2008
JAMA Blasts Vioxx Ghostwriters, Guest Authors, and Mortality Reporting
Documents obtained during Vioxx lawsuits against Merck provide a “case-study review of industry documents” showing that most clinical trial manuscripts and review articles were written by sponsor employees with noncompany authors brought in later to disguise the work, to misleadingly report mortality data to the FDA, and to keep data from some IRBs, JAMA authors charged...

Monday Apr 14, 2008
Orencia Gets FDA Okay for JIA
Pediatric rheumatologists gained a new tool for use in treating juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) with the US Food and Drug Administration’s approval of Orencia^® (abatacept)...

Wednesday Apr 09, 2008
TMJ in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis May Require MRI for Diagnosis, But it Can Heal
TMJ damage in children with JIA can resolve with actual healing of the damaged condyles once the underlying disease is controlled, but MRI might be required to diagnosis the jaw disorder...

Thursday Mar 27, 2008
Pfizer Fails to Gain Access to JAMA, Arch Int Med Peer Review Documents, NEJM Still Pending
A US federal judge in Illinois has quashed Pfizer’s attempt to access confidential peer review documents from JAMA and Archives of Internal Medicine related to studies of Bextra^® and Celebrex^®...

Tuesday Mar 18, 2008
Genzyme Reports That US Data From Large Outcome Studies of Carticel^® Support Long-Term Clinical Duration; Prior Marrow Stimulation Techniques May Compromise Treatment With Carticel
Genzyme announced that almost 90% of patients treated with Carticel who experienced improvement in knee function at an early follow-up, sustained their improvement for almost 10 years...

Monday Mar 10, 2008
AAOS Panel Presents Hip Resurfacing as Option for Some Younger Patients
Hip resurfacing may emerge as a preferred option for some younger arthritis patients...

Monday Mar 10, 2008
Avoidable Hospitalizations Common Among Older, Poorer SLE Patients
Rheumatologists have a key role in preventing avoidable hospitalizations among older, poorer patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)…

Friday Mar 07, 2008
Sports Doctors Urge for More Injury Prevention in Women Athletes
Sex matters in sports injuries, and more attention to special problems of women athletes is needed...

Monday Feb 25, 2008
Arthritis Patients Who Mix Prescription Drugs, OTC NSAIDs Report Lower Quality of Life
Mixing over-the-counter and prescription nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may be putting some arthritis patients at risk, or may be a sign that current treatment is inadequate...

Wednesday Feb 20, 2008
Studies of OA, Back Pain Drugs Reported at AAPM Meeting
Extended-release analgesics get top billing at AAPM meeting...

Tuesday Feb 19, 2008
RA Doubles Risk for Depression, but Rheumatologists Seldom Notice
Depression should appear on the rheumatologist's radar screen when treating patients with RA...

Tuesday Feb 19, 2008
Duloxetine, Milnacipran Studies in Fibromyalgia Reported
Duloxetine (Lilly's Cymbalta®) and milnacipran (Cypress Bioscience's Ixel®) studies report promising but mixed results...

Thursday Feb 14, 2008
Kidney Damage Routinely Overlooked in RA Patients; Serum Cr Not an Adequate Check
Nearly half of RA patients have compromised renal function, half of whom should have their dosage adjusted because of kidney damage...

Friday Feb 08, 2008
Phase III Data Look Good for Ustekinumab (CNTO 1275) in Plaque Psoraisis
Ustekinumab (CNTO 1275), a new monoclonal antibody that blocks interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-23, may hold advantages over existing systemic therapies for chronic plaque psoriasis in terms of its convenience and potentially its safety...

Friday Feb 08, 2008
TNF Inhibitors, Efalizumab, Alefacept Herald New Era in Psoriasis Treatment
New treatment strategies that include TNF-α inhibitors, efalizumab, and alefacept offer better psoriasis control with less toxicity, but still need to be compared with traditional agents in clinical trials...

Thursday Jan 24, 2008
NSAIDs No Better for Low Back Pain
Acetaminophen has been found to provide comparable relief to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for low back pain...

Thursday Jan 17, 2008
Elan, Biogen Idec Gain US FDA Approval of Tysabri® for Treatment of Moderate-to-Severe Crohn's Disease
Elan Corp, plc and Biogen Idec announced the approval of a supplemental Biologics License Application for Tysabri® (natalizumab) for inducing and maintaining clinical response and remission in adult patients with active moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease...

Wednesday Jan 16, 2008
Etanercept Clears Plaque Psoriasis in Children and Adolescents
Etanercept (Enbrel®) safely reduces disease severity in children and adolescents with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, and improvements are evident as early as the second week of therapy...

Tuesday Jan 15, 2008
Anika Enrolls First Patient in US Clinical Study for Monoviscâ„¢ for Knee Joint Pain Relief; Expects Product Launch in Europe in First Half 2008 
Anika Therapeutics, Inc announced that it has enrolled the first patient in a multicenter pivotal study evaluating its single-injection osteoarthritis (OA) product, Monoviscâ„¢...

Tuesday Jan 08, 2008
Tacrolimus in Dermatology—Pharmacokinetics, Mechanism of Action, Drug Interactions, Dosages, and Side Effects
Researchers have assessed the efficacy and safety of tacrolimus treatment in dermatology...

Monday Jan 07, 2008
Abbott's Humira® Approved in the EU for Treatment of Moderate-to-Severe Plaque Psoriasis
Abbott announced it has received marketing authorization from the European Commission for the use of the TNF antagonist Humira® (adalimumab) as a treatment for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Humira is the first fully human, self-injectable biologic for the treatment of psoriasis...

Thursday Dec 20, 2007
OARSI Researchers Further Refine Matrix-Associated Cartilage Repair Techniques
Matrix-associated autologous chondrocyte implantation continues to improve as a way of repairing arthritis knees, and MRI can be used to check the quality of the repaired tissue...

Tuesday Dec 18, 2007
Rigel's Oral Syk Kinase Inhibitor, R788 (tamatinib fosdium), Achieves Statistically Significant ACR-20, -50, -70 in Phase II RA Clinical Study; Achieves Effect As Early As 1 Week
Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc announced that its oral syk kinase inhibitor, R788 (tamatinib fosdium), has demonstrated statistically significant results in treating rheumatoid arthritis patients in a recently completed phase II clinical trial...

Wednesday Dec 12, 2007
Ferring's Euflexxaâ„¢ (1% sodium hyaluronate) is Effective in Treating Knee OA and Reduces Pain that Interferes with ADLs; Shows Equal Effectiveness in Disease Stages Two and Three
Ferring Pharmaceuticals announced the results of two clinical studies on the efficacy of Euflexxaâ„¢, an intra-articular hyaluronic acid (IA-HA) for the relief of pain in knee osteoarthritis (OA)...

Monday Dec 10, 2007
Doctors Rally to Save DXA from Medicare Cuts
If proposed Medicare cuts that would drastically reduce access to dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) are approved, many physicians will be unable able to offer DXA services in their offices and undetected osteoporotic fracture rates are likely to climb, healthcare researchers predict...

Thursday Dec 06, 2007
IM Vitamin D Provides Little Fracture Protection in Relatively Healthy, Community-Dwelling Elderly
If fracture risk in the elderly is associated with low vitamin D levels, why doesn't an annual vitamin D injection reduce fracture rates?...

Thursday Nov 29, 2007
New Method Provides Quick Estimate of 5-Year Hip Fracture Risk
A new algorithm based on 11 clinical factors can predict 5-year risk for hip fracture in postmenopausal women...

Wednesday Nov 28, 2007
Update on Joint Replacement
Total joint replacement has reduced pain and disability in elderly patients with arthritis. The procedure is cost-effective even for high-risk patients, but it is associated with higher risk for cardiac complications if both joints are replaced during the same procedure, and it might be chosen by more African-American patients if finances were less of an issue...

Monday Nov 26, 2007
Abatacept Wins Plaudits in Refractory JIA
The costimulation blocker abatacept may be a safe and effective option for juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients who have exhausted all other therapies...

Wednesday Nov 21, 2007
Combining MTX or Other DMARD With Biologic Seen as Best Strategy for MTX-Resistant Rheumatoid Arthritis
A systematic review of head-to-head trials and prospective cohort studies found little difference among either conventional DMARDs or anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) drugs used as monotherapy, but suggests that adding a conventional DMARD to a biologic may be the best strategy for MTX-resistant RA...

Thursday Nov 15, 2007
New Rheumatoid Arthritis B-Cell Depletor Advances in Phase II Trials
The experimental B-cell depleting small modular immunopharmaceutical (SMIP), TRU-015 has promising safety and efficacy trials in phase II RA data reported at the American College of Rheumatology...

Monday Nov 12, 2007
Rheumatologists Optimistic About IL-6 Blocker Tocilizumab
The interleukin-6 (IL-6) blocker tocilizumab is safe, effective, and improves quality of life for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients...

Friday Nov 09, 2007
RA Increases Stroke Risk Nearly as Much as Does Hypertension
RA is an independent risk factor for stroke and increases stroke risk nearly as much as having hypertension...

Friday Nov 09, 2007
RA Ages and Taxes the Heart
 More than half of 50 to 59 year olds newly diagnosed with RA and those >e;60 years have a >e;10% risk of developing heart disease within the next 10 years. Cardiovascular risk reduction strategies are recommended...

Thursday Nov 08, 2007
Serum Uric Acid May Be Independent Risk Factor in RA Cardiovascular Disease
Elevated serum uric acid, a potentially modifiable problem, may be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease in patients with RA...

Monday Nov 05, 2007
Manhattan Pharmaceuticals Initiates Phase IIa Study of Topical PTH (1-34) for Psoriasis
Manhattan Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a pharmaceutical company that acquires and develops drug candidates primarily for the treatment of dermatologic and immunologic disorders, announced that the first patient has received the initial dose of topical PTH (1-34) in a US multicenter, randomized, double-blind, vehicle-controlled, parallel group, phase IIa psoriasis study...

Thursday Nov 01, 2007
Low-Dose Glucocorticoids Halve Risk of Treatment-Limiting Infliximab Infusion Reactions

Treatment-limiting infliximab infusion reactions were significantly less frequent in RA patients who were also taking low-dose glucocorticoids...

Thursday Nov 01, 2007
Few Remissions From Switching to Other DMARDs After MTX Failure
If initial MTX fails to produce remission in RA, adding or switching to other conventional DMARDs is also unlikely to produce remissions...

Wednesday Oct 31, 2007
BREAKING NEWS: FDA Heightens Warning About Miscarriage, Birth Defects With Drug Used Off-Label for Lupus Nephritis

FDA has raised the warning level for mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) from Category C to Category D (positive evidence of fetal risk)...

Wednesday Oct 24, 2007
PPIs Cost-Effective for Elderly Taking NSAIDs, VA Study Shows
Routine use of PPIs would be cost-effective for elderly NSAID users...

Tuesday Oct 23, 2007
Experts Fret About How to Regulate "Generic" Biologics
Biopharmaceuticals are beginning to come off patent, promising cost savings for patients and headaches for regulators...

Tuesday Oct 16, 2007
Ocera Completes Enrollment in Phase III Clinical Trial of AST-120 in Fistulizing Crohn's Disease 
Ocera Therapeutics, Inc, a privately-held biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of proprietary compounds to treat gastrointestinal (GI) and liver diseases, announced that it has completed patient enrollment of its double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III study in fistulizing Crohn's disease...

Monday Oct 01, 2007
Novartis' COX-2 Inhibitor Prexige® Deemed "Not Approvable" by US FDA; Discussions with FDA to Continue 
Novartis Pharmaceuticals AG announced that it has received a "not approvable" letter from the US FDA for its COX-2 inhibitor Prexige® (lumiracoxib) as a once-daily treatment for patients suffering from pain due to osteoarthritis...

Thursday Sep 27, 2007
Panel Issues New Guidelines for Use of Imaging in Ankylosing Spondylitis
Although standard X-rays are essential for diagnosis and MRI may help diagnose early cases before radiographic damage develops,  no form of imaging is yet useful for monitoring response to treatment or for routine monitoring of disease progression in AS, experts say...

Thursday Sep 20, 2007
Researchers Identify Additional RA, SLE Genes
Genetics researchers report a new variant on chromosome 9 associated with anti-CCP-positive RA and a mutation of STAT4 on chromosome 2q associated with both RA and lupus...

Wednesday Sep 19, 2007
Sosei's Fibromyalgia Phase II Trial of Nonopioid Analgesic, AD 337, Fails to Achieve Primary Endpoint
Sosei Group Corp, an international biopharmaceutical company focused on drug reprofiling, announced that its phase II proof-of-principle trial of AD 337 (an enantiomer of an approved, centrally acting, nonopioid, analgesic) for the treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) failed to achieve a statistically significant outcome in its primary endpoint at 4 weeks...

Friday Sep 14, 2007
Doctors Often Scoff at Reports of Statin Myopathy, UCSD Researchers Say

Myopathy is the most common adverse drug reaction (ADR) reported by patients taking statins, but a new study finds that doctors often wrongly dismiss these reports...Golomb BA, et al. Drug Safety. 2007;30:669-675.

Tuesday Sep 04, 2007
New Restrictions on Prescribing Prexige® (lumiracoxib) in the EU
The UK (United Kingdom) Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) reported that Novartis Pharmaceuticals AG has informed doctors in Europe of new restrictions on prescribing its COX-2 anti-inflammatory osteoarthritis (OA) drug Prexige^R (lumiracoxib), including regular liver function monitoring both before and during treatment...

Tuesday Aug 28, 2007
Systematic Review Finds No Benefit From Selenium or Vitamins A, C in Arthritis; Raises Methodological Questions About Studies Showing Benefit From Vitamin E
Antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E, sometimes combined with selenium, have been widely touted as beneficial for the treatment of arthritis, but a systematic review finds little convincing evidence of efficacy...

Tuesday Aug 28, 2007
New Zealand Regulatory Authority, Medsafe, Revokes Consents for Prexige® 200 mg and 400 mg Tablets; Novartis Issues Recall Notice 
The Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority, Medsafe, has revoked the consents allowing the supply in New Zealand of the COX-2 anti-inflammatory medicine Prexige (lumiracoxib) 200 mg and 400 mg tablets on the grounds that the tablets can no longer be administered or used safely for the purposes indicated in the regulatory application for consent...

Friday Aug 17, 2007
Mayo Researchers Shake, Blast Biofilms to ID Bacteria Infecting Joint Prostheses
Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a new test that identifies organisms infecting joint prostheses more accurately than sampling tissue around the joint at the time of resection...Trampuz A, et al. N Engl J Med. 2007;357:654-663.

Thursday Aug 16, 2007
Even Moderate Exercise Improves Outcomes in JIA
Two new studies document diminished aerobic and anaerobic exercise capacity in children and teens with JIA and show that even moderate exercise can markedly improve outcomes...

Thursday Aug 09, 2007
Does Collagen Stimulate Its Own Degradation in OA Joints?
Chondrocytes are exposed to collagen in OA cartilage but not in normal joints. This process appears to trigger DDR-2-mediated expression of enzymes that further degrade collagen and add to joint destruction...Xu L et al, and Sandell LJ. Arthritis Rheum. 2007;2663-2673 and 2474-2477.

Tuesday Aug 07, 2007
Medarex Announces Initiation by Licensing Partner Novartis of Phase III Clinical Trial for Muckle-Wells Syndrome, a Rare Inherited Autoinflammatory Disease
Medarex, Inc announced that Novartis Pharmaceuticals AG has advanced ACZ885, a fully human monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β (IL-1 β), to a phase III clinical trial for Muckle-Wells syndrome (MWS), an inherited systemic autoinflammatory disease...

Thursday Aug 02, 2007
Stem Cell Transplants Offer Hope for Children With Severe, Refractory JIA
Intensive immunosuppression followed by T-cell-depleted autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation offers refractory JIA patients a chance for remission, but is it worth the risks?…Brinkman DMC, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2007;56:2410-2421.

Thursday Aug 02, 2007
TNF Inhibitors May Restore Adrenal Function in RA
TNF inhibitors appear to improve adrenal function in some RA patients, resulting in restoration of stable hormonal homeostasis...

Wednesday Jul 25, 2007
Hip Protectors Fail to Prevent Hip Fracture in Nursing Home Residents
Energy-absorbing/shunting hip protectors do not protect nursing home residents from hip fractures…Kiel DP, et al. JAMA. 2007;298:413-422.

Monday Jul 23, 2007
Birth Defects Reported After First-Trimester Leflunomide
Leflunomide (Arava^R) has been reported to cause teratogenic effects in animals and is suspected of causing blindness and cerebral palsy in the son of a woman who took the drug through the first 21 weeks of gestation.

Thursday Jul 19, 2007
Aspreva, Roche Report Preliminary Results for Phase III Study of CellCept in Lupus Nephritis; Fail to Achieve Primary Objective of Superiority to Intravenous Cyclophosphamide

Aspreva Pharmaceuticals Corp and Roche released preliminary results from a phase III clinical trial comparing CellCept (oral mycophenolate mofetil, MMF) with intravenous cyclophosphamide (IVC), the current standard of care in patients suffering from lupus nephritis.

Tuesday Jul 17, 2007
CombinatoRx's CRx-150 Fails to Meet Product Profile in Phase II Trial in RA; Development Discontinued in Favor of CRx-102

CombinatoRx, Inc, pioneering the new field of synergistic combination pharmaceuticals, announced disappointing preliminary results of its multicenter, randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled, clinical trial of CRx-150, a synergistic cytokine modulator combining the antidepressant amoxapine and the cardiovascular drug dipyridamole, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Tuesday Jul 17, 2007
Prospective Study Validates ESR and CRP as Screening Tests for Infection Before Revision Total Knee Arthroplasty

ESR and CRP can be used to differentiate infected from noninfected knees prior to revision total knee arthroplasty…

Thursday Jul 12, 2007
Coffee Consumption Slashes Gout Risk
Coffee may stave off gout before it starts, but patients who do develop gout are likely to receive suboptimal care...

Thursday Jul 12, 2007
Roche's Actemraâ„¢ (tocilizumab) Third Phase III Study Achieves Primary Endpoint in RA Patients Who Failed to Respond to Anti-TNFs; Confirms Findings From Previous Multinational Trials
Hoffmann-La Roche Inc announced that the Actemraâ„¢ RADIATE (RheumAtoiD ArthritIs Study in Anti-TNF FailurEs) trial successfully met its primary endpoint in patients with moderate-to-severe active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who failed to respond to at least one anti-TNF therapy...

Wednesday Jul 11, 2007
Genzyme's Pivotal Trial of Hylastan for OA of the Knee Fails to Achieve Primary Endpoint
Genzyme Corp announced unfavorable topline results from a pivotal study investigating the safety and efficacy of hylastan, a viscosupplementation product, in treating pain in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee...

Monday Jul 09, 2007
Zap Away Knee OA Pain With Pulsed Electrostimulation
Pulsed electrostimulation may be a safe and effective way to reduce pain and improve function in knee OA patients...

Thursday Jun 21, 2007
Early Data Show That Experimental B-Cell Blocker Passes Muster
Ofatumumab (Humax-CD20^TM), an experimental B-cell depleting agent, may be a safe and effective treatment for RA, but how it compares to rituximab remains to be seen...

Thursday Jun 21, 2007
Genzyme Files for FDA Approval of Single-Treatment Synvisc-Oneâ„¢ for OA Knee Pain
Genzyme Corp announced filing with the US FDA for product marketing authorization (PMA) of Synvisc-Oneâ„¢, the single treatment combining three doses of Synvisc® (hylan G-F 20) that provides up to 6 months of pain relief from osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee...

Monday Jun 18, 2007
Immediate Switch From TNF-Inhibitors To Abatacept Safe in RA Patients
A washout is not needed when switching from a TNF-inhibitor to abatacept...

Friday Jun 15, 2007
First Phase III Tocilizumab Data Show Rapid Improvement in RA Disease Activity, Confirming Critical Role of IL-6
Results of the first phase III trial of tocilizumab show that the anti-IL-6 monoclonal combined with methotrexate produces fast, sustained improvements in RA signs and symptoms, including a notable number of DAS28 remissions...

Monday Jun 04, 2007
Is Resistance Exercise the Fountain of Youth?

Resistance training may help reverse aging in skeletal muscle by altering mitochondrial function among healthy seniors...

Monday Jun 04, 2007
Switching to Rituximab May Be Best Call If TNF-Blockers Fail in RA
Switching RA patients to rituximab after inadequate response to TNF inhibitors may be better than trying yet another anti-TNF agent...

Tuesday May 29, 2007
Biomechanics, Damage Outside Cartilage May Doom Chondroprotection
Chondroprotection seemed like a reasonable approach to OA when the disease was thought to result from wear and tear on cartilage, but it has had little success in clinical trials. Biomechanics and damage outside the cartilage may be the reason...

Friday May 25, 2007
Accumulating Evidence Supports Adalimumab for Severe Psoriatic Arthritis
Adalimumab (Humira®) is safe and effective for patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who showed an inadequate response to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs)...

Friday May 18, 2007
PDL BioPharma Advances Nuvion® Into Second Pivotal Study in Intravenous Steroid-Refractory Ulcerative Colitis
PDL BioPharma, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on discovering, developing, and commercializing humanized monoclonal antibodies for autoimmune diseases and cancer, announced it will advance Nuvion^R (visilizumab), a humanized antibody, into a phase III clinical program in patients with intravenous steroid-refractory ulcerative colitis (IVSR-UC)...

Thursday May 10, 2007
Hydrotherapy, Tai Chi May Be Better Than Traditional Land-Based Exercises for OA
Hydrotherapy and Tai Chi are both better at improving physical function in OA patients than traditional exercise programs, and hydrotherapy has a particularly high patient adherence, perhaps because it seems to provide greater pain relief...

Tuesday May 01, 2007
Rituximab Plus Cyclophosphamide May Be an Option for Patients With Refractory Lupus Nephritis
A new 6-month pilot study suggests that rituximab (RituxanR) plus cyclophosphamide leads to clinical and histopathologic improvements in patients with therapy-resistant proliferative lupus nephritis...

Wednesday Apr 18, 2007
Death Forces Early Termination of Study of Infliximab in Systemic Vasculitis
Adverse events, including one death among nine patients treated, forced early termination of infliximab trial in systemic vasculitis...

Friday Apr 13, 2007
FDA Panel Rejects Merck's Arcoxia By 20-to-1 Vote
Citing increased cardiovascular risks, an FDA advisory panel voted 20-to-1 against recommending approval of the COX-2 inhibitor ArcoxiaR (etoricoxib) for the treatment of osteoarthritis...

Thursday Mar 22, 2007
New Studies Urge Closer Monitoring for JIA-Related Uveitis, TNF-Inhibitors Effective For Difficult Cases

New studies report that uveitis occurs in up to 20% of JIA patients, that TNF-inhibitors may be effective in hard-to-treat cases, and that close monitoring for uveitis should continue even during arthritis remissions...

Tuesday Mar 20, 2007
CYC Better Than AZA for Lupus Nephritis; Repeat Renal Biopsy Adds Little Useful Data
Azathioprine/methylprednisolone is inferior to pulse cyclophosphamide (CYC) for proliferative lupus nephritis...

Thursday Mar 15, 2007
Unigene Receives $5.5 Million Milestone Payment for Calcitonin Collaboration in Initiation of Osteoporosis Phase III Clinical Trial

Unigene Laboratories, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company focusing on the oral and nasal delivery of large-market peptide drugs, announced that the initiation of a phase III clinical study conducted by Nordic Bioscience, the development partner with Novartis Pharmaceuticals AG, to treat osteoporosis with oral calcitonin has triggered a $5.5 million milestone payment due from Novartis to Unigene...
 

Friday Mar 09, 2007
La Jolla Pharmaceutical Reports Positive Interim Antibody Results From Riquent® Lupus Phase III Trial; Results Imply Greater Probability of Clinical Benefit in the Treatment of Lupus Renal Disease as a Trial Outcome
La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on autoimmune and inflammatory disorders, announced positive interim antibody results from its ongoing double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized phase III trial of Riquent® (abetimus sodium), its drug candidate for the treatment of renal disease in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Friday Mar 09, 2007
TNF-Inhibitors Cut Cancer, Cardiac, Overall Mortality in RA Patients
A comparison of two nationwide databases shows that RA patients treated with TNF-inhibitors have lower mortality from all causes than RA patients not taking these drugs...

Thursday Mar 08, 2007
Mayo Clinic Study Suggests that Steroids Raise CV Risk Only in RF-Positive Patients
Steroid exposure increases CV risk in RA patients who were RF-positive, but not in patients RF-negative, Mayo Clinic researchers conclude...

Monday Mar 05, 2007
La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company Implements Several Modifications and Updates Status of  Phase III Riquent® Study for the Treatment of Lupus Renal Disease
La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company (SAN DIEGO, California) announced its continued progress in enrolling patients in its phase III clinical trial of Riquent® (abetimus sodium) for the treatment of lupus renal disease.

Thursday Mar 01, 2007
Larger Study Fails to Confirm Link Between Red Meat and RA
The largest study to date to examine dietary protein, iron, and meat consumption and risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has not confirmed a link between red meat intake and RA suggested by earlier studies...

Thursday Mar 01, 2007
Calcium-Containing Crystals May Contribute to OA Joint Destruction, Be Amenable to Treatment
Evidence is accumulating that calcium-containing crystals, which are common in OA synovial fluids in some patients, contribute to the development of rapidly destructive arthritis and might be a target for therapeutic intervention...

Tuesday Feb 20, 2007
Subset of Early RA Patients Seems Doomed to Progression Regardless of Treatment
Some patients with recent-onset RA who are RF-positive, are anti-CCP-positive, or have a high cumulative amount of disease activity are likely to have rapid progression despite aggressive treatment...

Tuesday Feb 20, 2007
Osiris's Chondrogenâ„¢ Adult Stem Cell Therapy Fails to Demonstrate Cartilage Regeneration According to Interim Results from Phase I/II Study
Osiris Therapeutics, a leader in adult stem cell therapy, announced that 6-month interim results from its phase I/II clinical study of Chondrogenâ„¢, a preparation of mesenchymal stem cells obtained from the bone marrow of healthy adult donors and specially formulated for direct injection into the knee for the regeneration of the meniscus in the knee and prevention of osteoarthritis, failed to demonstrate significant amounts of meniscal regeneration...

Thursday Feb 15, 2007
HGS and GSK Initiate Phase III Clinical Trial of LymphoStat-B® in Lupus
Human Genome Sciences, Inc and GlaxoSmithKline PLC announced the initiation of dosing in BLISS-76, one of two pivotal phase III clinical trials of LymphoStat-B® (belimumab, a human monoclonal antibody that blocks the biological activity of B-lymphocyte stimulator, or BLyS®) in patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)...

Thursday Feb 15, 2007
Experts at the 74th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Predict Clinically Useful Gene Therapy, Tissue Engineering Will Be Available "in 5 to 10 Years"
Presentations at the AAOS meeting include advances in both gene therapy and tissue-engineered products for cartilage, bone, and tendon repair...

Tuesday Feb 13, 2007
Wider Use of Spinal Cord Stimulation for Axial LBP Urged at Pain Medicine Meeting
Spinal cord stimulation is effective for axial low back pain (LBP) as well as for radiculopathy and should be more widely used for pain relief in LBP patients who have persistent pain associated with failed back surgery syndrome...

Thursday Feb 01, 2007
Brain Dysfunction Precedes the Development of Fibromyalgia
Abnormalities in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis can be detected more than a year before the development of fibromyalgia symptoms in patients who are psychologically "at risk." HPA dysfunction appears to increase the chance that psychological stress will trigger chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain...

Monday Jan 29, 2007
Renovis Reduces Workforce by 40%; Will Focus on Inflammatory Diseases and Pain
Renovis, Inc (SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, California), a biopharmaceutical company that seeks to discover, develop, and commercialize therapeutics for inflammatory and neurological diseases, announced it has reduced its workforce by approximately 40% to approximately 70 employees.

Thursday Jan 25, 2007
TNF Inhibitors May Protect Against Several Types of RA Cardiovascular Risk
RA patients treated with TNF inhibitors might also gain some protection against CV morbidity and mortality...

Thursday Jan 18, 2007
New Treatments Rocked Rheumatology in 2006

New treatment options have advanced rheumatology care in 2006, but lupus remains an unsolved problem, and CIAOMed Editorial Board members expect economic issues to greatly impact rheumatology practice in 2007...

Tuesday Jan 16, 2007
Can-Fite Completes Enrollment of 250 Patients in Phase IIb RA Trial of CF101, an A3 Adenosine Receptor Agonist; Receives US$1 Million Payment from Seikagaku Corporation
Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd, a clinical-stage drug development company focused on a portfolio of orally bioavailable, highly selective, small molecule A(3) adenosine receptor (A(3)AR) agonists with potent activities in inflammation and cancer, announced the  completion of patient enrollment in a phase IIb rheumatoid arthritis (RA) clinical trial of CF101, an A(3)AR agonist...

Thursday Jan 11, 2007
Rigel Starts Phase II Study of Its Oral Kinase Inhibitor, R788, in Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP)
Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc, announced that it has initiated enrollment and dosing of patients with refractory immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) in a phase II study evaluating the efficacy and safety of its lead product candidate, R788, an oral syk kinase inhibitor that inhibits IgG signaling and blocks the activation of mast cells, macrophages and B-cells that promote swelling and an inflammatory response.

Wednesday Jan 10, 2007
Osiris Receives US FDA Fast Track Status for Prochymalâ„¢ Stem Cell Therapy and Clearance to Start Phase III Clinical Trial in Treatment-Resistant Crohn's Disease
Osiris Therapeutics, a leader in adult stem cell therapy, announced that Prochymalâ„¢, a preparation of mesenchymal stem cells obtained from the bone marrow of healthy adult donors and specially formulated for intravenous infusion, has received fast-track designation from the US FDA, expediting the development of the stem cell treatment for Crohn's disease that does not respond to standard therapies.

Tuesday Jan 09, 2007
Pilot Study Data Support Trial of Intermittent versus Continuous Celecoxib in OA
 Intermittent celecoxib was not significantly less effective than continuous celecoxib in a pilot study of patients with hip or knee OA.

Tuesday Jan 09, 2007
Small Study Highlights Role for Etanercept in Rheumatological Manifestations of HCV
Etanercept seems to be safe and effective for the treatment of rheumatological manifestations associated with hepatitis virus C, but more studies are needed before firm  conclusions can be drawn...

Tuesday Dec 19, 2006
FDA Warns of Fatal PML Risk With Rituximab Treatment
FDA reports deaths of two lupus patients treated with rituximab, warns of PML risk...

Monday Dec 18, 2006
Genzyme, Anika Retain Separate Medicare Code and Reimbursement Rate for Synvisc and Orthovisc, Respectively; Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Reverse Earlier Decision
Genzyme Corp (CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts) and Anika Therapeutics, Inc (WOBURN, Massachusetts)  independently announced that Synvisc® (hylan G-F 20) and  Orthovisc®, their respective hyaluronic acid (HA) viscosupplement products used to treat pain caused by osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee, will maintain separate reimbursement codes and rates for 2007, according to a decision made by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Thursday Dec 14, 2006
Genmab Sees Positive Interim Data for HuMax-CD20 Phase II in Rheumatoid Arthritis; Starts Planning Phase III Studies
Genmab A/S, a human antibody therapeutics company, announced positive results from an interim analysis of the first 100 patients in the ongoing phase II rheumatoid arthritis (RA) study of HuMAX-CD20 (ofatumumab), a fully human monoclonal IgG1 antibody targeting the CD20 antigen on B-cells and currently in clinical development as a treatment for active RA, as well as for chronic lymphocytic leukemia and follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Monday Dec 04, 2006
Genzyme's Synvisc® Demonstrated to Improve Osteoarthritis Knee Pain With Single Dose
Genzyme Corporation announced preliminary results from a study conducted in Europe that indicate that patients treated with a single dose of Synvisc® (hylan G-F 20) achieved a statistically significant improvement in pain from osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee over 26 weeks compared with those using placebo.

Thursday Nov 30, 2006
FDA Panel Gives Nod to Celebrex for JRA
Despite a desire for more long term safety data, an advisory committee of the US Food and Drug Administration voted 15-1 Wednesday to recommend approval of celecoxib (CelebrexR) for the treatment of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA)...

Thursday Nov 30, 2006
Pregnant Women with SLE Face High Risk of Death, Infection
Pregnant women with lupus need to be followed closely by both a rheumatologist and an obstetrician experienced in high-risk pregnancies, as these women are at increased risks of mortality, infection, and other serious complications during gestation...

Wednesday Nov 29, 2006
Source MDx Awarded SBIR Phase I Grant; Will Collaborate with Tufts-New England Medical Center to Develop Biomarkers to Predict Responders and Nonresponders to Anti-TNF Therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Source MDx, a molecular diagnostics company, and Tufts-New England Medical Center (NEMC) announced a collaboration to investigate the clinical use of RNA-based molecular diagnostic tests to monitor rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease status and response to therapy.

Wednesday Nov 22, 2006
Sosei Ends Development of AD 452 Following Failure to Achieve Primary and Secondary Endpoints in Phase IIb Clinical Trial for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Sosei Group Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, announced that AD 452, a novel, small molecule cytokine modulator, disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) being developed for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) on a background of methotrexate, failed to meet its primary or secondary efficacy endpoints in a phase IIb clinical trial. As a consequence of these results Sosei has decided to discontinue with the development of this compound for the treatment of RA.

Thursday Nov 16, 2006
Immunomedic, UCB Phase III Trial of Epratuzumab in Lupus Patients No Longer on Clinical Hold
Immunomedics, Inc (MORRIS Plains, New Jersey), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, announced that their partner, UCB, SA (BRUSSELS, Belgium) has received notification from the US FDA that the clinical hold on existing trials with epratuzumab (a humanized IgG1 monoclonal antibody targeting the B-cell specific surface antigen CD22) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has been lifted.

Wednesday Nov 15, 2006
Three-Year BeSt Results Suggest MTX Plus Infliximab Can Move Some RA Patients Into Drug-Free Remission
Three-year results from the BeSt study suggest that early induction therapy with infliximab plus MTX can bring about remission in RA patients…Van Der Kooij SM, et al. Presented at: ACR 2006 Meeting. 

Wednesday Nov 15, 2006
FDA's Woodcock Pushes for Biomarkers as Key to New Drug Development and Improving Drug Safety
Janet Woodcock, MD, the FDA's deputy chief for operations, speaking at the American College of Rheumatology meeting, said that the 1990s era of blockbuster drugs is over, and that a fast public/private collaboration to identify biomarkers that permit drug researchers to "move beyond demographics" is needed to get new drug development moving and to improve drug safety... ACR 2006 Meeting.

Tuesday Nov 14, 2006
Successful Anti-TNF Treatment Restores Regulatory T-Cell Function in RA
TNF inhibitor treatment can restore some of the lost T regulatory (suppressor) cell functioning in patients with RA, which might contribute to suppression of disease flares... Valencia X, et al. Presented at: ACR 2006 Meeting.

Monday Nov 13, 2006
Rheumatologists Urged to Remember Global Health Concerns
Rheumatologists must pay attention to the current global health crisis and aid in the efforts to bring life-saving tools to the developing world, urged Tadataka Yamada, MD, executive director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Global Health Program in Seattle, WA... Presented at: ACR 2006 Meeting.

Tuesday Nov 07, 2006
Study IDs Predictors of Poor Outcome in Enthesitis-Related Arthritis
Enthesitis-related arthritis (ERA) patients tend to have worse outcomes than children  with other subtypes of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Predictors of poor outcome include family history of related diseases, the presence of HLA-DRB1*08, the absence of a protective HLA subtype, and persistently elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)…

Monday Nov 06, 2006
Array BioPharma Reports Success in Two Approaches to Inflammatory Disease: MEK Inhibitor Achieves Phase I Clinical Objectives; p38 MAP Kinase Inhibitor Advances into Clinical Development
Array BioPharma Inc. (BOULDER, Colorado), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of orally active, small molecule drugs for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and cancer, announced preliminary results from a phase I clinical trial evaluating its first-in-class MEK (MAPK kinase) inhibitor for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Wednesday Nov 01, 2006
Genzyme to Challenge Medicare Code and Reimbursement Decision for Synvisc
Genzyme Corporation, one of the world's leading biotechnology companies, announced that it will work with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), government officials and, if necessary, through legal channels to dispute a CMS decision to group all viscosupplementation products into a single reimbursement code.

Thursday Oct 26, 2006
New Study Casts Doubt on Metabolic Dysfunction in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
A new study comparing response to exercise in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia (FM) finds exercise more difficult in CFS/FM patients than in those with CFS alone, but casts doubt on metabolic explanations for CFS…Cook DB, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2006;54:3351–3362.

Monday Oct 23, 2006
Osiris Reports Positive Initial Results from Pilot Phase II Study of its Prochymalâ„¢ Stem Cell Therapy in Treatment-Resistant Crohn's Disease
Osiris Therapeutics, a leader in adult stem cell therapy, announced positive results from a pilot 10-patient phase II study using Prochymalâ„¢, an intravenous formulation of mesenchymal stem cells obtained from the bone marrow of healthy volunteer donors, for the treatment of patients with moderate to severe Crohn's disease (CD) who had failed to respond to standard treatments, such as steroids and infliximab (RemicadeR, Centocor, Inc).

Thursday Oct 19, 2006
Access to TNF-Blockers Severely Limited in UK
Access to TNF-inhibitor treatment is limited even for British RA patients who meet official guidelines for treatment, and is even more limited for patients with psoriatic arthritis or  ankylosing spondylitis ... Kay, LJ, et al. Rheumatology. 2006 Oct 11; [Epub ahead of print].

Thursday Oct 12, 2006
Aspreva Achieves Targeted Patient Enrollment in Phase III Clinical Trial for CellCept In Lupus Nephritis
Aspreva Pharmaceuticals Corporation, an emerging pharmaceutical company focused on identifying, developing, and commercializing new indications for approved drugs and late-stage drug candidates for patients living with less common diseases, announced the completion of the targeted enrollment of 358 patients in its global 117-site phase III clinical trial for CellCept® (mycophenolate mofetil, F. Hoffmann-La Roche) in the treatment of lupus nephritis...

Tuesday Oct 10, 2006
Trubion Initiates Phase IIb Clinical Trial of CD20-Targeted TRU-015 for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Trubion Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for autoimmune diseases and cancer, announced it has initiated a phase IIb clinical trial of TRU-015, the company's lead Small Modular ImmunoPharmaceutical (SMIPâ„¢) CD20-targeted drug candidate for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) via B-cell depletion...

Tuesday Oct 03, 2006
Genzyme's Synvisc Receives European Approval to Expand Label to Include the Treatment of OA Pain of the Ankle and Shoulder
Genzyme Corporation announced that it has received European approval to expand the CE mark labeling for SynviscR (hylan G-F 20) to include treatment of pain due to osteoarthritis (OA) of the ankle and shoulder. Genzyme expects to begin marketing Synvisc in the EU with its new label immediately.

Monday Oct 02, 2006
La Jolla Pharmaceutical to Expand Number of Clinical Trial Sites for Its Phase III International Trial of Riquent for the Treatment of Lupus Renal Disease
La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company (SAN DIEGO, Calif.), a biotechnology company developing therapeutics for antibody-mediated autoimmune diseases and inflammation, announced  progress and the expansion of its phase III trial of Riquent® (abetimus sodium, previously referred to as LJP 394) for the treatment of lupus renal disease, a leading cause of sickness and death in patients with lupus.

Monday Oct 02, 2006
Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis Seen in Leflunomide-Treated RA Patient
A case of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis associated with leflunomide treatment for rheumatoid arthritis has been reported... Wardwell NR, et al. Respirology. 2006;11:663-665.

Friday Sep 29, 2006
US Docs Question RCT of Meniscus Repair Arrow, Norwegians Persevere
Rigid, bioabsorbable internal tacks have become popular for repairing meniscus tears, but problems identified with longer follow-up are leading many US orthopedists to shift to suture-based approaches. The arrow will be compared with a newer suture-based system in a Norwegian randomized clinical trial... Gifstad T, et al. Am J Sports Med. 2006;14 September 2006 [Epub ahead of print].

Wednesday Sep 27, 2006
UCB, Immunomedic Phase III of Epratuzumab in Patients With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus on Clinical Hold
UCB, SA, licensing partner of Immunomedics, Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ), announced that it has voluntarily, temporarily suspended dosing in the phase III clinical studies of epratuzumab (humanized anti-CD22 antibody) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) because of end-stage manufacturing observations by UCB during a recent routine quality assurance audit of the Immunomedics facilities.

Tuesday Sep 26, 2006
Genmab Completes Accrual in Anti-CD20 Antibody Phase II RA Study
Genmab A/S, a biotechnology company that creates and develops human antibodies for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other inflammatory conditions, cancer, and infectious disease, announced it has completed enrollment in the HuMax-CD20â„¢ (ofatumumab) phase II study to treat patients with active RA who have failed treatment with one or more disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), including biologics.

Wednesday Sep 13, 2006
Can-Fite BioPharma to Develop Its A3 Adenosine Receptor Agonist (CF101) for Psoriasis
Can-Fite BioPharma, a clinical-stage drug development company focused on a portfolio of orally bioavailable, highly selective, small-molecule A3 adenosine receptor (A3AR) agonists with potent activities in inflammation and cancer, announced the intent to initiate a phase II clinical trial in psoriasis for its lead drug candidate, CF101.

Monday Sep 11, 2006
Abbott Seeks US and EU Approvals for HUMIRA (Adalimumab) for Crohn's Disease
Abbott announced it has simultaneously submitted a supplemental Biologics License Application with the US FDA and a Type II Variation to the European Medicines Agency seeking approval to market HUMIRA^R (adalimumab) as a treatment for moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease...

Thursday Sep 07, 2006
Overall Lupus Mortality Drops, but SLE Cardiovascular Death Rates Increase
As death rates continue to plummet in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), physicians need to treat cardiovascular symptoms aggressively while balancing the need for immune suppressant therapy against the risk of fatal infection... Bernatsky S, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2006;54:2550-2557

Thursday Aug 24, 2006
Merck's Investigational Selective COX-2 Inhibitor, ARCOXIA (Etoricoxib), for Arthritis and Pain Yields Mixed Clinical Results Against the NSAID Diclofenac
Merck & Co, Inc. announced preliminary analyses of the MEDAL (Multinational Etoricoxib and Diclofenac Arthritis Long-Term) program study as showing the rate of confirmed thrombotic cardiovascular (CV) events to be similar between the selective COX-2 inhibitor ARCOXIAâ„¢ (the planned successor to Vioxx) and diclofenac, the most widely prescribed traditional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID).

Wednesday Aug 23, 2006
Genzyme Files for European Approval to Expand Label for Synvisc in Ankle and Shoulder Indications
Genzyme Corp. announced that it has filed with the European authority to expand the continuing education mark for Synvisc® (hylan G-F 20) to include treatment of pain due to osteoarthritis (OA) of the ankle and shoulder...

Friday Aug 18, 2006
Merck Loses in Latest Vioxx Decisions
Merck lost in federal court and had a win in state court reversed in the latest round of Vioxx litigation.

Thursday Aug 17, 2006
Superagonist Trial Hit By Cytokine Storm
The six patients who nearly died in a phase I trial of an experimental anti-CD28 monoclonal antibody being developed as a rheumatoid arthritis treatment were injured by "cytokine storms" triggered by the new drug, and the head of the intensive care unit where their lives were saved thinks this demonstrates that a new approach to testing biologic agents is needed....Suntharalingam G, et al. N Engl J Med. 2006; August 14; [Epub ahead of print].

Wednesday Aug 16, 2006
Biogen Idec and University of Adelaide Find TWEAK Is a Novel Arthritogenic Mediator; Potential New Pathway in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis Disease Process
Biogen Idec announced studies published in the August 15, 2006, issue of the providing evidence that TWEAK (TNF-like weak inducer of apoptosis), a TNF family member, is a novel arthritogenic mediator that contributes to joint tissue inflammation, angiogenesis, and destruction, and may inhibit endogenous repair.

Wednesday Aug 02, 2006
Schering AG Obtains Mixed Results From Two Clinical Trials of Sargramostim for Crohn's Disease: Phase III Fails to Achieve Primary End Points; Phase II Meets Primary and Secondary Endpoints
Schering AG, Germany announced results from two recently completed multicenter, placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind clinical studies of sargramostim for the treatment of Crohn's disease.

Wednesday Jul 26, 2006
Can-Fite BioPharma Initiates Multi-National Phase IIb Study of A(3) Adenosine Receptor Agonist (CF101) in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Can-Fite BioPharma announced that it has initiated a phase IIb clinical study of CF101 (1-deoxy-1-[6-[[(3-iodophenyl)methyl]amino]-9H-purine-9-yl]-N-methyl-D-ribofuranuronamide), an A3AR agonist exclusively licensed from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Can-Fite's lead drug candidate for rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Wednesday Jul 26, 2006
GAO, HHS Inspector General Push FDA to Tighten Up on Postmarketing Studies
A report from the Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General adds to growing pressure for the US Food and Drug Administration to hold pharma companies accountable for the burgeoning number of promised—but never completed—postmarketing studies.

Monday Jul 24, 2006
RA Patients with Persistently High ESR Rate at Greater Risk for Heart Failure
Rheumatoid arthritis with persistently elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate values   are at especially high risk of heart failure and should be monitored accordingly... Maradit-Kremers H, et al. Ann Rheum Dis. Published Online First: 3 July 2006. doi:10.1136/ard.2006.053710

Friday Jul 21, 2006
Study Suggests Glucosamine Not So Safe After All
People with untreated diabetes who take glucosamine may experience spikes in glucose levels when they take supplements of glucosamine…Biggee BA, et al. Ann Rheum Dis. Published Online: 3 July 2006. doi:10.1136/ard.2006.058222.

Thursday Jul 20, 2006
Bioengineered Cartilage Successfully Transplanted in Osteoarthritic Knees
Cells taken from areas of healthy cartilage can be grown on hyaluronic acid scaffolds and used to patch damaged knees, even joints that have already progressed to osteoarthritis....Hollander AP,  et al. Tissue Engineering 2006;12:1-12.

Saturday Jul 08, 2006
New Study Supports Steroid Injections for Hip OA
Data from a new randomized, controlled trial support the EULAR recommendation on steroid injections for hip OA....Lambert RG, et al. EULAR 2006.

Tuesday Jun 27, 2006
Questions About Hand OA Radiography Raised at EULAR
New radiographic standards for hand OA are needed. ...Watt I. EULAR 2006 Meeting' June 21-24, 2006, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Abstract SP0059.

Tuesday Jun 27, 2006
Bosentan Prevents Digital Ulcers, Improves Heart Function in Systemic Sclerosis
Bosentan reduces digital ulcer risk and improves heart function in systemic sclerosis patients... Allanore Y, et al. Presented at: EULAR 2006 Meeting; June 21–34, 2006; Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Abstract OP0120.

Tuesday Jun 27, 2006
Keep Prescribing MTX, Using X-rays for RA, EULAR Told
Pre-symptomatic diagnosis and better drugs should make RA remission for all a possibility within 10 years...Smolen, J. Presented at: EULAR 2006, 21-24 June 2006, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Monday Jun 26, 2006
Lupus Treatment Moving "From Serendipity to Sense"
Lupus research has had a very good year... Isenberg DA. EULAR 2006 Meeting; June 21-24, 2006; Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Abstract SP0139.

Friday Jun 23, 2006
Rituximab Inhibits Progression of Joint Damage in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rituximab plus MTX significantly slows joint damage in RA... Keystone E, et al. 2006 EULAR Meeting; June 21–24, 2006; Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Tuesday Jun 20, 2006
Abatacept Effective in MTX-Resistant RA
Abatacept (Orencia®) significantly reduces disease activity and retards radiographic progression in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis despite treatment with methotrexate... Kremer JM, et al. Ann Intern Med. 2006;144:865-876.

Monday Jun 05, 2006
PsA Enthesopathy As Cause of Plantar Fasciitis Responds to TNF Inhibitors
The TNF inhibitors infliximab and etanercept are both effective for the treatment of enthesopathy associated with psoriatic arthritis... Ritchlin CT. J Rheumatol. 15 May 2006; [Epub ahead of print]

Thursday Jun 01, 2006
Ocera's AST-120 Improves Anal Fistulas, Begins Phase III Trial in Fistulizing Crohn's Disease
Ocera Therapeutics, Inc, announced the first North American and European pivotal phase III clinical trial of AST-120 in patients with mild to moderate fistulizing Crohn's disease...

Wednesday May 31, 2006
British Clinicians Challenge Restrictive TNF Inhibitor Guidelines
British guidelines for the use of TNF inhibitors are unduly restrictive and should be revised, practitioners charge... Deighton CM, et al. Rheumatology. 2006;45:649-652.

Thursday May 25, 2006
Meniscus Allografts Survive, Provide "Shock Absorber" in Severe Arthritis
Meniscus retread might help delay need for total knee replacement... Stone KR, et al. Arthroscopy. 2006;22:469-478.

Thursday May 25, 2006
Hyperosmolar Dextrose Sweetens Chronic Tendinosis

Ultrasound-guided hyperosmolar dextrose injections into tendon relieve chronic tendinosis... Maxwell NJ, Ryan M, Taunton JE, Wong A. Presented at: American Roentgen Ray Society 106th Annual Meeting; April 30–May 5; Vancouver, BC. Abstract 172.

Wednesday May 24, 2006
Bone-Sparing, Metal-on-Metal Hip Resurfacing System Benefits Young, Active Patients
A just-approved bone-sparing hip-resurfacing system will likely relieve pain and improve hip function among younger, active patients who have good bone quality, but caveats remain...

Wednesday May 17, 2006
Manhattan Pharmaceuticals Delays Phase IIa Trial of Topical PTH (1-34) for Psoriasis
Manhattan Pharmaceuticals, Inc, of New York, NY, announced a delay in the phase IIa dosing study of topical PTH (1-34) for psoriasis...

Monday May 08, 2006
Additional Neuropathies Linked to TNF Inhibitors

Guillain-Barré syndrome, demyelinating and axonal neuropathies, and a central nervous system syndrome have been reported recently in patients treated with TNF inhibitors... Shin I-SJ, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2006;54:1429-1434; Jarand J, et al. J Rheumatol. 2006;33:1018-1020.

Thursday May 04, 2006
CV Risk With Vioxx Rises in First 60 Days
Rofecoxib (Vioxx) increases the risk of cardiovascular events, typically within the first 60 days of use, while naproxen reduces such risk, and other coxibs and nonselective NSAIDs have no effect... Solomon DH, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2006;54:1378-1389.

Thursday May 04, 2006
Adding Alefacept Increases MTX Response in Psoriatic Arthritis
Alefacept plus methotrexate significantly increased response rates in patients with psoriatic arthritis... Mease PJ, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2006;54:1638-1645.

Friday Apr 28, 2006
Leukocytes Extend Damage, Kill "Bystander" Chondrocytes in Areas Around Injured Cartilage
Damage to cartilage also kills chondrocytes far from the site of injury, and this distant damage is mediated by inflammatory leukocytes that adhere to ICAM-1 expressed by stressed but otherwise viable chondrocytes. Preventing the early flood of leukocytes into the injured joint or blocking leukocyte attachment to ICAM-1 might reduce long-term damage... Green DM, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2006;54:1509-1517.

Friday Apr 14, 2006
Low Risk of Serious Infections With Infliximab When Used at Approved Dose of 3 mg/kg
New research suggests that the risk of serious infections in RA patients given the approved infliximab dose of 3 mg/kg plus methotrexate (MTX) is similar to the risk among patients receiving MTX alone... Westhovens R, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2006;54:1075-1086.

Tuesday Apr 11, 2006
Leflunomide is an Effective Treatment for Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) and Plaque Psoriasis
Once-daily oral leflunomide is a safe and effective treatment for psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and plaque psoriasis... Nash P, et al. Dermatology. 2006;212:238-249.

Wednesday Apr 05, 2006
Multiple Factors, Including the Quality of the PCP-Rheumatologist Relationship, Contribute to Referral Delays for Patients With Early RA
Although recent guidelines from the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) stress the need for timely diagnosis and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), one half of patients with early RA are not referred to rheumatologists in a timely manner... Suter LG, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2006;55:300-305.

Monday Mar 27, 2006
Genmab Reports Positive Phase I/II Clinical Data for HuMax-CD20â„¢ in RA
Genmab A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, reported encouraging safety and efficacy data from its 24-week multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, dose-escalation phase I/II study of HuMax-CD20â„¢...

Thursday Mar 23, 2006
Biomarkers May Identify Early Implant Failure or Loosening
New research is helping to identify early biomarkers of prosthetic performance as well as genetic polymorphisms that predict risk of osteolysis... Presented at: 52nd Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society; March 18–22, 2006; Chicago, Ill.

Wednesday Mar 22, 2006
Infections Following Revision Arthroplasty Are Increasing

The rate of deep infections following revision hip and knee arthroplasty is increasing and will continue to rise unless action is taken... Kurtz S, et al. Presented at: 52nd Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society; March 18–22, 2006; Chicago, Ill. Abstract 235.

Tuesday Mar 14, 2006
Study Associates Meniscal Damage With Advanced Cartilage Loss in Early OA
Meniscal tears and malposition result in cartilage loss in patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis... Hunter DJ, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2006;54:795-801.

Thursday Mar 09, 2006
RA Patients Have Increased Risk of Preclinical Atherosclerosis
Rheumatoid arthritis patients have an increased prevalence of preclinical atherosclerosis independent of traditional risk factors... Roman MJ, et al. Ann Intern Med. 2006;144:249-256.

Monday Mar 06, 2006
Phase III Data for Centocor's Remicade® Show Rapid and Marked Improvement in Moderate to Severe Plaque Psoriasis
Centocor, Inc, of Horsham, Pennsylvania, announced the results from its phase III EXPRESS II study of Remicade® (infliximab)...

Friday Mar 03, 2006
Rituximab Approved for Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Refractory to TNF-Antagonists
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the anti-CD20+ B-cell-targeted monoclonal antibody rituximab (Rituxan®) in combination with methotrexate for adult patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis who experienced an adequate response to one or more tumor necrosis factor antagonists...

Wednesday Mar 01, 2006
Effects of IV Steroids for Treatment of Acute Sciatica Are Transient
Intravenous steroids reduce pain in patients with severe acute discogenic sciatica, although the improvement is small and transient... Finckh A, et al. Spine. 2006;31:377-381.

Wednesday Mar 01, 2006
CombinatoRx Drops Its Phase IIa Oral Product Candidate (CRx-140) for Psoriasis; Drug Candidate CRx-102 Demonstrates Positive Phase II Study Results in Hand Osteoarthritis
CombinatoRx Inc, of Boston, Massachusetts, announced the discontinuance of its phase IIa drug candidate, CRx-140...

Tuesday Feb 21, 2006
TNF Inhibitors May Benefit Refractory Dermatomyositis and Polymyositis
Tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors may be useful for the treatment of some cases of refractory dermatomyositis and polymyositis... Efthimiou P, et al. Ann Rheum Dis. [serial online]. February 13, 2006; doi.10.1136/ard.2005.048744.

Thursday Feb 16, 2006
Infliximab Effective Treatment for Refractory Childhood Uveitis
Tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibition is effective for treatment of childhood uveitis refractory to standard immunosuppressive therapy... Saurenmann RK, et al. Rheumatology Advance Access. February 3, 2006.doi:10.1093/rheumatology/ke1030.

Friday Feb 03, 2006
Seal Oil May Lead to Subjective Improvements in Psoriatic Arthritis
Seal oil, rich in omega-3s, may improve psoriatic arthritis patients' global assessment of their disease, suggesting a trend toward a decrease in the number of tender joints, possibly due to seal oil's anti-inflammatory effects... Madland TM, et al. J Rheum. 2006;33:307-10.

Wednesday Feb 01, 2006
Stem Cell Transplantation Shows Promise in Treatment-Resistant Lupus
Autologous nonmyeloablative hematopoietic stem cell transplantation ameliorates disease activity, improves serologic markers, and stabilizes or reverses organ dysfunction in about half of patients with treatment-refractory systemic lupus erythematosus... Burt RK, et al. JAMA. 2006;295:527-535.

Monday Jan 30, 2006
Can-Fite BioPharma Submits Clinical Protocol to FDA for Multinational Phase IIb Study of A₃ Adenosine Receptor Agonist for RA
Can-Fite BioPharma, of Petach Tikva, Israel, announced that it has submitted a draft protocol to the US Food and Drug Administration...

Thursday Jan 26, 2006
Risk of New Fractures Found to Increase After Vertebroplasty
A nonsurgical therapy used to heal vertebral compression fractures, vertebroplasty may increase the risk of new fractures in adjacent vertebrae... Trout AT, et al. Am J Neuroradiol. 2006;27:217-223.

Wednesday Jan 25, 2006
Insurance Coverage May Influence How TNF-Alpha Inhibitors Are Prescribed
A new observational study of the TNF-α inhibitors infliximab and etanercept has found that Medicare patients with RA are 30% more likely to receive infliximab than those covered by private insurance, findings that suggest that reimbursement policies may drive physicians' prescribing decisions independent of efficacy. However, the emergence of Medicare Part D prescription coverage may change prescribing behavior to favor self-injectable drugs... DeWitt EM, et al. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166:57-63.

Monday Jan 23, 2006
Ocera Completes $14.5M Series A Financing and Files IND for Crohn's Compound
Ocera Therapeutics, of San Diego, California, has announced the closing of a $14.5 million Series A round of financing...

Friday Jan 20, 2006
Patients with Chronic Skin Disease Who Require Long-Term Corticosteroids Not Receiving Bisphosphonates
Most patients who receive prolonged oral corticosteroids for chronic skin diseases such as pemphigus vulgaris and cutaneous lupus erythematosus are not receiving bisphosphonates... Liu RH, et al. Arch Dermatol. 2006;142:37-41.

Thursday Jan 19, 2006
Biomarkers Help Predict OA Patients at Greatest Risk of Progression
A single measurement of serum hyaluronic acid or short-term changes in urine C-telopeptide of type II collagen can identify osteoarthritis patients at the greatest risk of disease progression... Bruyere O, et al. Ann Rheum Dis. Published online January 5, 2006; doi:10.1136/ard.2005.045914.

Wednesday Jan 18, 2006
Study Examines Most Effective Way to Give Steroid Boost for Mild to Moderate Lupus Flares
Intramuscular triamcinolone and oral methylprednisolone are equally effective at managing mild to moderate flares in lupus, but triamcinolone may lead to a more rapid response... Danowski A, et al. J Rheumatol. 2006;33:57-60.

Wednesday Dec 21, 2005
EMG May Be Better Than MRI at Diagnosing Spinal Stenosis
Because it can test nerve function and determine the presence of nerve damage, electromyogram testing may be more effective than magnetic resonance imaging in diagnosing spinal stenosis as well as detecting neuromuscular diseases that mimic stenosis... Haig AJ, et al. Spine. In press.

Tuesday Dec 13, 2005
Osiris to Initiate Phase II Trial of Prochymalâ„¢ for Crohn's Disease
Osiris Therapeutics, Inc, of Baltimore, Maryland, has announced the start of enrollment for its phase II clinical trial of Prochymalâ„¢...

Monday Dec 05, 2005
Trials Demonstrate That Earlier Use of DMARDs and MTX Improve Juvenile Arthritis Outcomes 
Earlier use of second-line medications such as methotrexate or disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in juvenile arthritis may account for the improved outcomes that rheumatologists have observed in recent years…  Presented at: Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology; November 12–17, 2005; San Diego, Calif. Abstract 126.

Friday Dec 02, 2005
New Study Indicates Fear of Addiction Among Other Surprising Reasons for Poor Adherence to Bisphosphonate Therapy
While lack of adherence to bisphosphonates is well-known, recent research has shed new light on possible causes, including difficulties in following prescribing instructions, frequency of dosing schedules, potential drug-drug interactions, and fear of addiction…  Presented at: Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology; San Diego, Calif. Abstract 625.

Friday Dec 02, 2005
New Gout Drug PEG-Uricase May Benefit Severe, Refractory Patients
A new study has found that multiple doses of PEG-uricase, a novel polyethylene glycol conjugate of porcine uricase (urate oxidase), has shown substantial and sustained reductions in plasma urate levels in patients with severe, refractory gout... Presented at: Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology; November 12–17, 2005; San Diego, Calif. Abstract 1836.

Tuesday Nov 29, 2005
Leading Rheumatologists Sound Off on Limitations of GAIT Study
The initial results of the $14 million National Institutes of Health Glucosamine/Chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial failed to show any real benefit for patients with mild-to-moderate knee osteoarthritis, leaving many rheumatologists in a quandary about what they should tell patients regarding the use of these readily available supplements... Clegg DO, et al. Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology; November 12–17, 2005; San Diego, Calif. Abstract 622.

Tuesday Nov 22, 2005
Belimumab Data Show Only Modest Clinical Effect in RA
While belimumab is biologically active, safe, and somewhat effective for RA, the magnitude of its effect may not portend a bright future for the novel anti-BlyS agent... Presented at: 69th Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology; November 12–17, 2005; San Diego, Calif. Abstract 1920.

Monday Nov 21, 2005
Genentech, Biogen IDEC's Rituxan® Benefits RA Patients Unresponsive to Methotrexate and Anti-TNF Therapies
Genentech, Inc, and Biogen IDEC, who filed in October for US Food and Drug Administration approval to market rituximab (Rituxan®)...

Thursday Nov 17, 2005
Three Novel and Distinct Agents Show Promise in RA
Three promising new rheumatoid arthritis (RA) drugs—including an oral small-molecule inhibitor that targets a novel adenosine receptor (AR) and a new anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) agent—may soon augment the rheumatologist's ever-expanding armamentarium... Presented at: Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology; November 12–17, 2005; San Diego, Calif.

Thursday Nov 17, 2005
Study Results Question "Window of Opportunity" Hypothesis for RA
Contradicting a widely held belief about treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), early use of disease-modifying therapy within 4 months of diagnosis had no apparent impact on the disease course... Presented at: Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology; November 12–17, 2005; San Diego, Calif

Wednesday Nov 16, 2005
REFLEX Trial Demonstrates Efficacy of Rituximab in RA Resistant to Anti-TNF Therapy
Rituximab, an anti-CD20+ B-cell-targeted monoclonal antibody with an established therapeutic record in the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, has shown statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who are refractory to anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) therapy... Presented at: Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology; November 12–17, 2005; San Diego, Calif.

Tuesday Nov 15, 2005
Thalidomide Shows Promise in Refractory Systemic Onset Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
Thalidomide improves systemic clinical features, lab parameters, and joint symptoms in most patients with refractory systemic onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis (So-JIA), but caution is urged due to possible neurologic side effects... Badot V, et al. Presented at: 69^th Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology; November 12–17, 2005; San Diego, Calif.

Sunday Nov 13, 2005
Targeted Anti-Cytokine Therapies Emerging as the Future of RA Treatment
Although tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) blockade is the new standard of care for patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA), other targeted therapies—including abatacept, B-cell-depleting agents, and anti-interleukin-6 monoclonal receptor antibodies—are emerging to fill the unmet needs of RA patients ... Maini R. Presented at: 69th Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology; November 12–17, 2005; San Diego, Calif.

Wednesday Oct 12, 2005
Centocor Obtains Approval in Europe for Remicade® for Psoriasis
Centocor, Inc, and its marketing partner, Schering-Plough Corporation, have announced that the European Commission has granted approval of Remicade^R (infliximab)...

Thursday Oct 06, 2005
Human Genome Sciences' LymphoStat-Bâ„¢ for Lupus Fails to Meet Primary Endpoints in Phase II Trial

Human Genome Sciences, Inc (Rockville, Md), announced that its investigational drug for lupus, LymphoStat-Bâ„¢, (belimumab) failed to meet the overall primary efficacy endpoints...

Thursday Sep 29, 2005
Study Suggests Statins May Lower Fracture Risk in Men
A study of almost 30,000 elderly men suggests that statins, in addition to their lipid-lowering benefit, may also reduce fracture risk...Scranton RE, et al. Arch Intern Med. 2005;165:2007-2012.

Saturday Sep 24, 2005
Orthopaedic Surgeons, Neurologists Often Fail to Refer Patients for DEXA Exams
Even with the availability of training programs and educational literature, it is rare for many orthopaedic surgeons and neurologists, physicians who regularly see patients at high risk for fractures, to refer these patients for assessment of bone mineral density (BMD)... Presented at: 27^th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research; September 23-25, 2005; Nashville, Tennessee.

Friday Sep 23, 2005
FDA Issues "Non-Approvable Letter" for Pfizer's Injectable COX-2 Drug
Just 1 week after receiving a nonapprovable letter for their new osteoporosis drug lasofoxifene (Oporia), Pfizer Inc announced Tuesday that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a nonapprovable letter for parecoxib sodium, an injectable COX-2 inhibitor used to treat acute pain in the postsurgical setting... Pfizer receives FDA non-approvable letter on parecoxib [press release]. PR Newswire; September 20, 2005.

Monday Sep 19, 2005
A Leading Rheumatologist Reflects on How Cyclooxygenase Became a Household Word
Just as it appeared that the dust from the great COX-2 controversies had begun to settle, a jury in Texas awarded a plaintiff a judgment against Merck & Co for one quarter of a billion dollars - indeed, for a death that, arguably, was not Vioxx-related.

Friday Sep 16, 2005
Neurochem Initiates Rolling NDA Submission for Fibrillexâ„¢ for AA Amyloidosis
Neurochem Inc announced that it has initiated submission of a rolling new drug application (NDA) to the US FDA seeking marketing approval for Fibrillexâ„¢...

Friday Sep 16, 2005
Abatacept Beneficial to Patients with RA Refractory to TNF-α Inhibitors
Abatacept has shown benefit to rheumatoid arthritis patients with inadequate response to tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α inhibitors, according to the results of a randomized, double-blind study...Genovese MC, et al. N Engl J Med. 2005;353:1114-1123.

Tuesday Sep 13, 2005
Two New Treatments Show Promise in Paget's Disease
Zoledronic acid and osteoprotegerin found to be promising new therapies for the management of Paget's disease... Reid IR, et al. N Engl J Med. 2005;353:898-908; Cundy MD, et al. N Engl J Med. 2005;353:918-923.

Monday Sep 12, 2005
Genmab's HuMax-CD20 in Phase II for RA
Genmab A/S (Copenhagen, Denmark), a biotechnology company that creates and develops human antibodies for the treatment of life-threatening and debilitating diseases, has announced...

Friday Sep 09, 2005
FDA Arthritis Advisory Committee Gives Preliminary Go-ahead to Abatacept
A Food and Drug Administration Arthritis Advisory Committee unanimously recommended approval of Orencia®  (abatacept) Tuesday, stating that the benefits of the costimulation blocker for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) outweighed the risks of serious infections like pneumonia and some cancers.

Thursday Sep 08, 2005
Cyclophosphamide/Stem Cell Transplantation Protocol Shows Promise for Refractory Autoimmune Diseases
Japanese researchers report promising phase I-II trial results showing that high-dose cyclophosphamide supported by autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation is feasible and may be effective in the treatment of severe and refractory autoimmune diseases such as systemic sclerosis and SLE...Tsukamoto H, et al. Ann Rheum Dis online August 26, 2005

Monday Aug 29, 2005
Is There a Role for TNF Inhibitors in Refractory Subacute Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus?
New research demonstrating expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in refractory subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE) skin lesions suggests a possible role for TNF blockade in the treatment of this disease. Zampieri S, et al. Ann Rheum Dis. August 11, 2005. [Epub ahead of print]

Tuesday Aug 23, 2005
MRI Data Show Etanercept Reduces Spinal Lesions in AS, but Questions Remain
Etanercept therapy leads to the regression of spinal lesions in active ankylosing spondylitis and undifferentiated spondyloarthritis... Rudwaleit M, et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2005;64:1305-1310

Friday Aug 19, 2005
Stem-Cell Transplantation Temporarily Improves Function and Health Status in RA Patients
New research helps delineate some of the benefits and potential limitations of high-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation in patients with severe refractory rheumatoid arthritis. Teng YK, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2005;52:2272-2276.

Wednesday Aug 10, 2005
Abatacept Reduces Disease Activity and Improves Function in RA Patients Who Failed MTX
Results of a 12-month study show that the first in a class of agents designed to block a costimulatory pathway required for optimum activation of T cells may play an important role in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), particularly among patients unresponsive to methotrexate (MTX)... Kremer JM, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2005;52:2263-2271.

Sunday Aug 07, 2005
Neurochem Initiates Submission of NDA With US FDA for Fibrillexâ„¢ in AA Amyloidosis
Neurochem has announced that it has initiated, under the Continuous Marketing Application Pilot 1 program...

Tuesday Jul 26, 2005
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Is There a Phthalate Connection?
Murine studies suggest that exposure to phthalates may increase susceptibility to SLE and possibly other autoimmune disorders... Lim S-Y and Ghosh SK. J Autoimmun. 2005;25:33-45

Monday Jul 18, 2005
GSK and HGS to Jointly Develop LymphoStat-B^TM  for RA and Lupus
Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (HGS) announced that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has exercised its option under a 1996 agreement to co-develop and commercialize LymphoStat-B (belimumab), a human monoclonal antibody (created through a collaboration with Cambridge Antibody Technology) that neutralizes the activity of B-lymphocyte stimulator, or BlyS^TM, a protein required for the development of B-lymphocytes into mature plasma B cells.

Friday Jul 08, 2005
Genelabs' Prestara^TM  Gains Orphan Drug Exclusivity to Prevent SLE Bone Loss
Genelabs Technologies, Inc, reported that Prestara^TM, a synthetic form of the hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), has been granted orphan drug exclusivity by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the

Wednesday Jul 06, 2005
Radiological Grade, High Global Assessment, and Past NSAID Use Strongly Predictive of Hip OA Joint Replacement
Patients with OA of the hip who presented with a radiological grade of III or IV, a high mean global assessment during the first 6 months, and previous treatment with NSAIDs have a stronger likelihood of undergoing total hip replacement surgery... Ann Rheum Dis. 2005;64:1028-1032

Tuesday Jun 28, 2005
Botox Injections Improve Symptoms in Patients With Raynaud's Phenomenon
Injections of botulinum toxin type A may accelerate the rewarming process by inhibiting vasoconstriction in patients with secondary Raynaud's phenomenon... Presented at: Annual European Congress of Rheumatology of EULAR; June 8-11, 2005; Vienna, Austria.

Thursday Jun 16, 2005
Chelsea Launches Phase I Trial of Its Lead Antifolate Compound
Chelsea Therapeutics, Inc. announced the initiation of a Phase I clinical trial in the UK of its lead orally available, metabolically inert antifolate (CH-1504), which, in a nonpivotal, independent, 6-month pilot clinical study involving 20 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in Peru suggested a lower toxicity and improved tolerability, and increased effectiveness versus methotrexate (MTX), even among patients who had previously failed to demonstrate improvement with MTX.

Wednesday Jun 15, 2005
New Data on Fibrillex, Neurochem's Treatment Candidate for AA Amyloidosis
Neurochem, Inc, announced that Fibrillex^TM (1,3-propanedisulfonate), an oral investigational candidate for the treatment of amyloid A (AA) amyloidosis, demonstrated clinical effect but missed the prespecified p-value of 0.01 on the primary endpoint in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, and parallel-design trial involving 183 patients (89 on Fibrillex, 94 on placebo).

Monday Jun 13, 2005
EULAR Report: Developments in the Treatment of Ankylosing Spondylitis Using TNF-α Inhibitors
Studies of low-dose regimens, the effects of discontinuation, and 52-week data from an initial study of adalimumab highlight the results presented at EULAR on the use of TNF-α inhibitors in the treatment of AS...Presented at Annual European Congress of Rheumatology of EULAR; June 8-11, 2005; Vienna, Austria.

Thursday Jun 09, 2005
A Conversation at EULAR: Dr. Ricard Cervera on Biologics and Pregnancy
The preeminent immunologist comments on the increasing use of TNF-α inhibitors and other biologic drugs-particularly among women, who bear the brunt of autoimmune disease-and the concern about their potential effects on pregnancy... Cervera R. Annual European Congress of Rheumatology of EULAR; June 8-11, 2005; Vienna, Austria.

Thursday Jun 09, 2005
Abatacept Inhibits Structural Damage in RA Patients with Inadequate Response to Methotrexate
New studies help define and clarify potential niche for costimulation blockade in autoimmunity...Presented at: Annual European Congress of Rheumatology of EULAR; June 8-11, 2005; Vienna, Austria.

Wednesday Jun 01, 2005
More Evidence for the 'FitzGerald Hypothesis' on the Relationship of Coxibs and Cardiovascular Disease Risk
Vascular remodeling may interact with a predisposition to hypertension and atherosclerosis, contributing to the gradual increase in cardiovascular risk during extended periods of treatment with COX-2 inhibitors...Rudic RD, et al. Circ Res. Published online May 19, 2005.

Thursday May 26, 2005
African-American and Hispanic Osteoarthritis Patients Less Likely Than Caucasians to Undergo Knee Replacement Surgery
These minority populations are significantly less likely to consider knee arthroplasty compared with their Caucasian counterparts regardless of health status, a finding that researchers attribute to differences in the perception of benefit, trust in the physician, and personal experience with the procedure...Suarez-Almazor ME, et al. Arch Intern Med. 2005;165:1117-1124.

Tuesday May 24, 2005
Rehabilitation Is as Beneficial and More Cost-Effective Than Spinal Fusion in Chronic Low Back Pain Patients
Contrary to previous reports and often physicians' advice, rehabilitation utilizing cognitive behavior principles is as effective as fusion for chronic low back pain, and should be offered as a first-line therapy...Fairbank J, et al. BMJ. May 23, 2005; [Epub ahead of print].

Tuesday May 17, 2005
Infliximab Approved for Treatment of Psoriatic Arthritis
Infliximab joins etanercept as an anti-TNF-α treatment option for patients with active psoriatic arthritis...FDA approves Remicade® for ninth indication: psoriatic arthritis [press release]. Malvern, Pa: Centocor, Inc; May 17, 2005.

Wednesday May 11, 2005
New Genetic Variant May Increase Risk of Inflammatory Disease
A recently identified polymorphism results in differential HLA molecule expression and is associated with susceptibility to common diseases with inflammatory components...Swanberg M, et al. Nat Genet. 2005;37:486-494.

Friday May 06, 2005
Use of DMARDs and Referral to Rheumatologists Too Low in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients
A pre-biologic therapy era population study in British Columbia suggests that too few physicians are adhering to treatment guidelines for rheumatoid arthritis for early and aggressive intervention, delaying the "window of opportunity" when effective therapy can induce radiographic regression... Lacaille D, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2005;53:241-248.

Thursday May 05, 2005
Etanercept May Not Be Optimal for Treatment of Systemic Onset JRA
New results showing that more than 50% of SOJRA patients have a poor or limited response to etanercept suggest that alternative therapies are needed...Kimura Y, et al. J Rheumatol. 2005;32:935-942.

Friday Apr 22, 2005
High-Dose Methotrexate Particularly Effective for Polyarticular Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis
A head-to-head trial comparing leflunomide and methotrexate monotherapy showed that both drugs demonstrated significant improvement in ACR Pediatric 30 responses through a 48-week course of therapy...Silverman E, et al. New Engl J Med. 2005;352:1655-1666.

Friday Apr 15, 2005
Small Interfering RNA Suppresses Inflammation in Mouse Model of Arthritis
Local administratipon of TNF-α-directed siRNA inhibits collagen-induced arthritis in mice, suggesting a potential treatment strategy for RA...Schiffelers, RM. Arthritis Rheum. 2005;52:1314-1318.

Wednesday Apr 13, 2005
Human Genome Sciences' LymphoStat-B® Meets Primary Efficacy and Safety Endpoints in Phase II trial for RA
Human Genome Sciences, Inc. reported results from a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center Phase II clinical trial indicating that LymphoStat-B (belimumab) administered intravenously is safe, well tolerated, and results in a statistically significant reduction in the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Wednesday Apr 13, 2005
Genelabs' Prasterone (Prestara®) Fails to Increase Bone Mineral Density in Women with Lupus
Genelabs Technologies, Inc. reported recently that in a 9-month, Phase III trial, treatment with Prestara (prasterone), a synthetic form of the human hormone dehydroepiandrosterone, failed to achieve the primary endpoint of improving bone mineral density (BMD) in the lumbar spine in women with systemic lupus erythematosus receiving concomitant glucocorticoids.

Thursday Apr 07, 2005
FDA Orders Valdecoxib (Bextra) Withdrawn, Citing No Added Advantage
The agency also mandated black box warnings for celecoxib and stricter label warnings on traditional NSAIDs, including over-the-counter products... US Food and Drug Administration teleconference April 7, 2005.

Monday Apr 04, 2005
Analgesic Drug Pipeline, Though Relatively Dry, Poised for Revitalization
Despite a relative paucity in the current analgesic pipeline, a greater understanding of complex pain processes, pharmacogenetics, and new diagnostic tools and therapeutic targets, including assays and biomarkers, may open the doorway to more effective therapies, as well as better use of existing treatments...Presented at: 24th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society; March 30-April 2, 2005; Boston, Mass.

Thursday Mar 31, 2005
Lidocaine Patch May Be as Effective as Oral Medications for Improving Osteoarthritis Pain
As physicians seek alternatives to coxibs, traditional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and opioids, a new study suggests that lidocaine patches may play a role in treating localized knee pain due to OA...Galer B, et al. Presented at: 24th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society; March 30-April 2, 2005; Boston, Massachusetts.

Monday Mar 28, 2005
Case Study Suggests Humanized Anti-CD20 Monoclonal Antibody Effective in Rituximab-Resistant Lupus
Researchers at the Centre for Rheumatology at University College, in London, England, report in the April 2005 issue of Rheumatology the first case of a patient with severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), who, having become unresponsive to the chimeric anti-CD20 antibody rituximab, exhibited a good response to a fully-human anti-CD20 antibody (hCD20) provided on a compassionate use basis by Immunomedics, Inc.¹

Wednesday Mar 23, 2005
IL-1 Blocker Anakinra Safe and Effective in Small Study of Severe Lupus Arthritis Patients
Accumulating evidence suggests that anakinra may find a niche in IL-1-driven diseases such as juvenile arthritis, adult onset Still's disease, and severe lupus arthritis...Ostendorf B, et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2005;64:630-633.

Tuesday Mar 15, 2005
Trials of Gout Drug Febuxostat Demonstrate Promising Efficacy
Results of Phase II and Phase III studies of the novel xanthine oxidase inhibitor suggest that it may play an important role in treating hyperuricemic patients with renal insufficiency and allopurinol hypersensitivity...Becker MA, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2005;52:916-923.

Monday Mar 14, 2005
Alantos Pharmaceuticals Acquires Funding to Develop MMP-13 Inhibitors
Preclinical studies of novel matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) inhibitors, which target the predominant collagenase involved in degradation of articular cartilage, demonstrate their promise as therapeutic agents for patients with osteoarthritis (OA), according to researchers at Alantos Pharmaceuticals, of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Sunday Mar 13, 2005
Markers of Systemic Inflammation May Be Independent Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Death in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis
A new study indicates that ESR may be predictive of CV mortality and suggests that tighter control of inflammation may help improve long-term outcomes for RA patients...Maradit-Kremers H, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2005;52:722-732.

Friday Mar 11, 2005
Rapid Onset of Joint Failure in Mice Lacking Lubricin, the Main Lubricant in Synovial Fluid
A new study of mice lacking the PRG4 gene suggests that it is required to protect the cartilage surface and prevent synovial hyperplasia...Rhee DK, J Clin Invest. 2005; [Epub ahead of print].

Wednesday Mar 09, 2005
First CINOD Fails to Show Gastrointestinal Protection in Osteoarthritis Trial
Despite promising preclinical data, an experimental COX-inhibiting nitric oxide donator does not cause fewer ulcers than naproxen in osteoarthritis patients; Astra Zeneca shuts down the project...Lohmander LS. Ann Rheum Dis. 2005;64:449-456

Friday Feb 18, 2005
Public Outcry Over Embattled Pain Relievers at FDA Advisory Panel Hearing
Some called for the withdrawal of all coxibs, while others pleaded for a return of the withdrawn rofecoxib (Vioxx) during public testimony at the FDA advisory meeting... US FDA Joint Meeting of the Arthritis Advisory Committee and the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee; February 17, 2005.

Thursday Feb 17, 2005
Pfizer, Merck & Co Grapple Over Cardiovascular Risk Associated With Coxibs
With the fate of a drug class on the line, all eyes are on an FDA advisory panel as they assess the data on coxibs and make recommendations that could lead to a labeling change or their withdrawal from the market... FDA joint meeting of the Arthritis Advisory Committee and the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee; February 16, 2005.

Friday Feb 04, 2005
Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Face Higher Risk for Congestive Heart Failure and Unrecognized Coronary Heart Disease
Two population-based studies suggest that the heightened risk of heart disease may be attributed to the systemic inflammation that characterizes RA rather than traditional risk factors&Nicola PJ. Arthritis Rheum. 2005;52:412-420; Maradit-Kremers H. Arthritis Rheum. 2005;52:402-411.

Thursday Feb 03, 2005
Crohn's Disease Patients With Attenuated Response to Infliximab May Respond to Adalimumab
Mimicking the paradigm seen with TNF-blockade in rheumatoid arthritis, preliminary data suggest that switching infliximab nonresponders to adalimumab may improve the clinical response and reduce disease activity...Papadakis KA. Am J Gastroenterol. 2005;100:75-79.

Monday Jan 31, 2005
New Research Highlights Generation Gap, Ethnic Divide Among Chronic Pain Patients
While African Americans experience more pain and related negative effects than do caucasians, young adults across both ethnic groups do not cope as well with chronic pain as do their older counterparts...Baker TA, Green CR. Pain Med. 2005;6:29-38.

Tuesday Jan 18, 2005
One-Third of US Adults Including Growing Numbers of Arthritis Patients Turn to Complementary and Alternative Medicine
In response to continued use of these products, rheumatologists are urged to become more aware of nonprescription medications and drug-herb interactions...Tindle HA. Altern Ther Health Med. 2005;11:42-49.

Wednesday Dec 22, 2004
National Institutes of Health Halts Alzheimer's Prevention Trial Involving Aleve and Celebrex
Federal officials noted that patients taking the OTC formulation of naproxen had a 50% greater rate of cardiovascular (CV) events compared with placebo; those in the COX-2 inhibitor arm of the trial saw no increased CV risk...National Institutes of Health, December 20, 2004.

Tuesday Dec 14, 2004
Comparative Trial Analyzes MI Risk Associated With Rofecoxib and Celecoxib
A new study that examines histories of analgesic use in recent MI patients revealed a significant difference in the levels of risk for MI associated with rofecoxib and celecoxib. The study concludes that this is due not to an increase in risk associated with rofecoxib, but rather to a significant decrease in risk in patients using celecoxib&Kimmel SE, et al. Ann Intern Med. 2005;142(3).

Monday Dec 13, 2004
Clinical Decisions With COX-2s: Balancing GI Protection and Cardiovascular Risk
CIAOMed continues its series about the impact of the withdrawal of rofecoxib (VioxxR) from the worldwide market. The first installment (CIAOMed.org; November 9, 2004) discussed possible mechanisms of the cardiovascular (CV) risk observed with rofecoxib, and whether they apply to other cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors. This second installment examines the impact of recent disclosures on changes in the selection of appropriate candidates for COX-2 inhibitors, on the reemergence of traditional antiinflammatory agents such as nonselective nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for patients at risk for gastrointestinal complications, and on therapeutic decisions for those who require aspirin to maintain cardiovascular protection& Simon LS. Advanced Studies in Medicine. 2004;4:522-523.

Friday Dec 10, 2004
Occupational Risk Factors for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus May Include Mercury Exposure and Pesticide Mixing
Epidemiologic study indicates that occupational mercury exposure and some dental and agricultural work are significantly associated with a greater risk for developing SLE and that previously suspected occupations may not present this risk...Cooper GS, et al. J Rheumatol. 2004;31:1928-1933.

Friday Dec 03, 2004
Leflunomide Associated With Lower Rate of Adverse Events Than Other DMARDs, Large Cohort Study Finds
Study of more than 40,000 patients showed that the AE profile of leflunomide, alone or in combination with methotrexate, was comparable to that of other DMARDs used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis...Cannon GW. J Rheumatol. 2004;31:1906-1911.

Thursday Nov 18, 2004
Questionnaire Helps Screen for Risk of Opioid Misuse Among Chronic Pain Patients
Self-administered screening tool may increase physicians' comfort level with identifying long-term opioid candidates at low-risk for aberrant drug behavior, as well as those at higher risk...Butler SF, et al. Pain. 2004;112:65-75.

Tuesday Nov 09, 2004
COX-2s, Pain Relief, and Cardiovascular Risk: Where Do We Go From Here?
In the first of a 3-part series, CIAOMed will examine possible underlying mechanisms that may be responsible for elevated cardiovascular risk in select COX-2 inhibitors and whether such explanations extend to all coxibs. Subsequent installments will examine how to manage patients in light of the new reports and the future of this frequently used drug class... Simon LS, Strand V. Cleve Clin J Med. 2004;71:849-856.

Monday Oct 25, 2004
Leflunomide-Methotrexate Combination Equivalent in Safety to Leflunomide Alone for RA
A five-year study involving over 5000 RA patients showed no increase in mortality or long-term serious adverse events... Ta KT, et al. Presented at: Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology; October 20, 2004; San Antonio, Tex.

Monday Oct 25, 2004
Leflunomide-Methotrexate Combination Equivalent in Safety to Leflunomide Alone for RA

A five-year study involving over 5000 RA patients showed no increase in mortality or long-term serious adverse events... Ta KT, et al. Presented at: Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology; October 20, 2004; San Antonio, Tex.

Thursday Oct 21, 2004
Leflunomide-Methotrexate Combination Equivalent in Safety to Leflunomide Alone for RA
A five-year study involving over 5000 RA patients showed no increase in mortality or long-term serious adverse events... Ta KT, et al. Presented at: Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology; October 20, 2004; San Antonio, Tex.

Wednesday Oct 20, 2004
Adalimumab Markedly Reduces Psoriatic Arthritis Symptoms
Striking benefits are shown for psoriatic arthritis patients' skin and joint symptoms with adalimumab vs placebo... Mease PJ, et al. Presented at Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology; October 19, 2004; San Antonio, Texas

Tuesday Oct 19, 2004
Glucosamine Supplements Show Demonstrable Benefit for Osteoarthritis Symptoms

A newly released report from the World Health Organization documents the disease-modifying clinical endpoints that support the efficacy of this well-known over-the-counter medication... Bruyere O et al. Poster presented at: Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology; October 19, 2004; San Antonio, Tex.

Monday Oct 18, 2004
You Were Right! The Weather Does Affect Joint Pain
A large-scale study correlates arthritis pain with weather data finding the effect of cooler weather a weak but significant factor in pain... McAlindon TE, Formica MK, Fletcher J, Schmid S. Presented at: Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology; October 18, 2004; San Antonio, Tex. Abstract 596.

Monday Oct 18, 2004
Identical Twins Have 5 Times the Risk of Joint Replacement Surgery If Their Twin Has the Procedure

Swedish researchers discover a genetic link for osteoarthritis risk, especially among identical twins, adding to previous findings that did not distinguish between heredity and shared family environment... Lohmander S, Johnell O, Pedersen NL. Poster presented at: Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology; October 18, 2004; San Antonio, Texas . . Abstract 228.

Tuesday Oct 12, 2004
Few Patients Undergo Screening or Receive Treatment for Glucocorticoid-induced Osteoporosis

Despite evidence of rapid bone loss associated with chronic oral steroid use, fewer than 25% of men and 50% of women undergo screening or receive treatment for glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis... Curtis JR, et al. J Bone Miner Res. 2004;19(suppl 1):S30. Abstract 1114.

Tuesday Aug 31, 2004
TARGET Study Shows Fewer GI Complications, No Increased Cardiovascular Risks, With Lumiracoxib Compared to NSAIDs

A study comparing lumaricoxib to two NSAIDs shows that it may be linked to a reduced risk of gastrointestinal complications, and no additional cardiovascular risk. (Schnitzer TJ, et al. TARGET Study Group. Lancet. 2004;364:665–674.)

Monday Aug 30, 2004
SLE Researchers Encouraged to Use Biomarkers, Surrogate Markers as Study Endpoints; New Research Shows B-Cell Depletion to Have Role in SLE Therapy
(Schiffenbauer J, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2004;50:2415-2422; Looney RJ, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2004;50:2580-2589.)

Monday Aug 30, 2004
Incidence of Gout Increasing; New Therapies Have Promise to Make Disease More Manageable
(Bieber JD, Terkeltaub RA, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2004;50:2400-2414.)

Thursday Jun 10, 2004
Pregnancy and Autoimmune Disease: Balance Risk of Disease versus Treatment to Fetus
Physicians who treat patients with autoimmune disease need to consider the risks of the disease to pregnancy and fertility as well as the treatment.