Arthritis & Rheumatology News and Research

Latest Arthritis & Rheumatology News and Research

Study shows lack of physical activity in 42% of adults with RA

A new study, funded by a grant from the National Institute for Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), found that two in five adults (42%) with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were inactive.

27 Jan 2012

New system safe, effective in delivering CsA to organ transplant patients

A new system for delivering a drug to organ transplant patients, which could avoid the risk of harmful side effects, is being developed by scientists at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.

27 Jan 2012

Amgen enters definitive merger agreement to acquire Micromet

Amgen and Micromet, Inc. today announced that the companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Amgen will acquire Micromet, a biotechnology company founded in Germany with its research and development (R&D) center in Munich and headquarters in Rockville, Md., for $11 per share in cash.

27 Jan 2012

Celgene signs definitive merger agreement to acquire Avila

Celgene Corporation and Avila Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company developing targeted covalent drugs that treat diseases through protein silencing, today announced a definitive merger agreement under which Celgene Corporation will acquire Avila Therapeutics, Inc.

26 Jan 2012

Aphios receives NIH's Phase II SBIR grant to develop APH-0703 for AD

Aphios Corporation has received a Phase II SBIR grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) amounting to $2.4 million over two years. The National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the NIH, awarded the grant to the Aphios Corporation to develop an "Alzheimer's Disease Therapeutic."

24 Jan 2012

Johnson & Johnson fourth quarter sales increase 3.9% to $16.3 billion

Johnson & Johnson today announced sales of $16.3 billion for the fourth quarter of 2011, an increase of 3.9% as compared to the fourth quarter of 2010. Operational sales increased 4.0% and the negative impact of currency was 0.1%.

24 Jan 2012

EMA CHMP issues positive opinion to MSD's REMICADE for treatment of pediatric UC

MSD today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) adopted a positive opinion recommending the use of REMICADE (infliximab) in the treatment of severely active ulcerative colitis (UC) in pediatric patients ages 6 to 17 years, who have had an inadequate response to conventional therapy, including corticosteroids and 6-mercaptopurine or azathioprine, or who are intolerant to or have medical contraindications for such therapies.

21 Jan 2012

Risperdal lawsuit settlement: Largest Medicaid fraud case in Texas

Texas and Janssen Pharmaceuticals reach a $158 million settlement on a suit claiming that the company lied about the efficacy of the anti-psychotic medicine.

21 Jan 2012

TCRH forms new joint venture with Duke LifePoint

Twin County Regional Healthcare (TCRH) has entered into a new agreement that will secure the hospital's position as a trusted provider of quality healthcare services for years to come. The TCRH Board of Directors and Duke LifePoint Healthcare today announced they have signed a definitive agreement to jointly own and operate Twin County Regional Healthcare and its affiliated assets.

20 Jan 2012

New book focuses on improving care for chronic diseases

Why does health care need to be redesigned? First - the current system is broken. It costs too much, and too often yields little value for patients and society. Second - it's fixable. The editors and authors of Great Health Care - Making It Happen are convinced of it.

20 Jan 2012

Testing for osteoporosis – how often?

A new study shows that many women who get screened for osteoporosis may not need it. It suggests that the current guidelines result in too many unnecessary tests, increasing costs and sometimes spurring unnecessary treatment.

19 Jan 2012

The AJMS publishes updates on type 2 diabetes, STIs

Research is leading to new insights on two major public health challenges: preventing the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and improving disease control for patients with type 2 diabetes. Expert updates on these critical topics appear in a special symposium section of the January issue of The American Journal of the Medical Sciences (The AJMS), official journal of the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation.

19 Jan 2012

Patients with PsA may benefit from new medications and surgeries

Medications or biologic agents that target T-cells, white blood cells involved in the body's immune system, appear to offer significant benefit to patients suffering from psoriatic arthritis (PsA), a type of arthritis that affects up to 48 percent of patients with the skin disease psoriasis, according to a new review article in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

19 Jan 2012

Vitamin D could prevent age related eye degeneration: Study

A new study showed that increased vitamin D intake can help to prevent age-related diseases, in particular loss of vision and blindness.

18 Jan 2012

Hot yoga practicing tips

Yoga is one of the hottest fitness trends and a style known as "hot yoga" is gaining in popularity. Hot yoga refers to yoga practiced in a heated environment, with the room temperature generally reaching 90 to 105 degrees. The theory behind it is that hot yoga helps the body to sweat out toxins while allowing the practitioner to safely achieve deeper poses. Bikram is a common form of hot yoga.

17 Jan 2012

Incidence of knee arthroplasty higher in women, finds study

Researchers in Finland found that annual cumulative incidences of partial and total knee arthroplasty, commonly known as knee replacement surgery, rose rapidly over a 27-year period among 30 to 59 year-olds in that country, with the greatest increase occurring in patients aged 50 to 59 years.

17 Jan 2012

Researchers discover HS1.2 enhancer as the cause of SLE

A "genetic accelerator" is responsible for the most severe cases of Lupus (systemic lupus erythemathosus), an autoimmune disease: the accelerator, called enhancer HS1.2, speeds up the activity of some critical genes of the immune system involved in the disease.

17 Jan 2012

Scientists discover specific immune system T cells that trigger destruction of type 1 diabetes

Researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology have proven - for the first time in human tissues -- the specific immune system T cells which trigger the destruction of type 1 diabetes in the pancreas. The finding is an important advance that verifies in humans several important disease characteristics shown in mouse studies and provides a key focal point for interrupting the disease process.

13 Jan 2012

Cryo-electron microscopy can visualize structures within viruses

Since the discovery of the microscope, scientists have tried to visualize smaller and smaller structures to provide insights into the inner workings of human cells, bacteria and viruses. Now, researchers at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), part of the National Institutes of Health, have developed a new way to see structures within viruses that were not clearly seen before.

13 Jan 2012

Researchers identify human receptor that can taste fat

Why do we like fatty foods so much? We can blame our taste buds. Our tongues apparently recognize and have an affinity for fat, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. They have found that variations in a gene can make people more or less sensitive to the taste of fat.

13 Jan 2012