Arthritis & Rheumatology News and Research

Latest Arthritis & Rheumatology News and Research

AJMS journal provides research update on new infectious pathogens

Newly recognized disease-causing viruses, bacteria, and other infections are continually emerging around the world, posing difficult challenges for patient diagnosis and treatment and for public health responses. A special symposium section of the September issue of The American Journal of the Medical Sciences (AJMS), official journal of the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation, provides a research update on important new infectious pathogens.

24 Sep 2010

BioSeek signs two-year agreement with Cellzome

Asterand plc, a leading provider of human tissue and human tissue-based research services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies engaged in drug discovery research, today announced that its subsidiary BioSeek, LLC, a pioneer in the application of predictive human biology to drug discovery, has signed a two-year agreement with Cellzome.

24 Sep 2010

Interleukin Genetics announces clinical study data on osteoarthritis progression

Interleukin Genetics, Inc. and the Thurston Arthritis Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announced today findings from a large clinical study to evaluate the role of genetic factors in osteoarthritis progression which showed patients with radiographic evidence of knee osteoarthritis who inherited a specific pattern of genetic variations in the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) gene were almost twice as likely to progress to severe disease as other patients.

23 Sep 2010

Phase II study: Fostamatinib improves outcomes in RA patients

AstraZeneca's new oral syk inhibitor, fostamatinib (R788), recently in-licensed from Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc., significantly improved outcomes of patients with rheumatoid arthritis who responded inadequately to ongoing treatment with methotrexate, according to phase II study data published in The New England Journal of Medicine today.

23 Sep 2010

Biogen Idec concurs with FDA on safety monitoring for Gilenya through REMS

Biogen Idec is committed to improving the lives of people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and no company is doing more for these patients. There has been a desire within the MS community for an oral treatment for a long time, and the approval of Gilenya has made this a reality.

23 Sep 2010

Evotec AG collaborates with Almirall for ion channel validation in respiratory diseases

Evotec AG today announced that it has entered into a collaboration with Almirall S.A. to identify small molecule modulators of an ion channel target, selected by Almirall, involved in respiratory diseases.

23 Sep 2010

Prevalence of periodontal disease in US higher than originally estimated

The prevalence of periodontal disease in the United States may be significantly higher than originally estimated. Research published in the Journal of Dental Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) suggests that the prevalence of periodontal disease may have been underestimated by as much as 50 percent. The implication is that more American adults may suffer from moderate to severe gum disease than previously thought.

22 Sep 2010

Study links progressive osteoarthritis to IL-1Ra gene variations

Scientists from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and Interleukin Genetics, Inc. announced today findings from a large clinical study to evaluate the role played by genetic factors in the worsening of osteoarthritis.

22 Sep 2010

Richmond Hill Children's Clinic patients to have real-time access to PHRs at mypatientaccess.ca

Canadian Patient Access Inc. and Nightingale Informatix Corporation, an application service provider (ASP) of electronic medical records (EMR) software and related services today announce that mypatientaccess.ca, Canada's first secure, interactive patient portal will soon be made available to parents of more than 10,000 pediatric patients treated at the Richmond Hill Children's Clinic (Richmond Hill, ON).

21 Sep 2010

Phenex Pharmaceuticals announces closure of Series C financing round

Phenex Pharmaceuticals AG, a drug discovery and development company headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany, today announced the closure of its Series C financing round with a volume of 6 M € (7,8 M USD) bringing the total amount of funds raised to 17,2 M € (22,4 M USD).

21 Sep 2010

Health Canada issues license for IgX PLEX Celiac test kit

SQI Diagnostics Inc., a medical systems automation company focused on evolving laboratory-based biomarker testing, announced today that Health Canada has issued a medical device license for its automated IgX PLEX Celiac(TM) microarray test kit that runs on the Company's automated SQiDworks(TM) platform. The license allows the Company to market and sell the IgX PLEX Celiac product in Canada.

21 Sep 2010

New genes associated with osteoarthritis progression

21 Sep 2010

ChemoCentryx presents CCX140 clinical data at EASD

ChemoCentryx, Inc., today announced that it reported positive preclinical and Phase I study results at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). CCX140, a novel, orally bioavailable small molecule antagonist of the chemokine receptor CCR2, improved metabolic function while significantly reducing inflammatory macrophages found in adipose tissue in an animal model, and was well tolerated in Phase I clinical trials.

21 Sep 2010

Scientists identify new pathway to control immune balance

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have identified a new pathway that helps control the immune balance through reciprocal regulation of specialized T lymphocytes, which play very different inflammatory roles.

21 Sep 2010

Arrayit installs microarray platform at NIH

Arrayit Corporation has completed installation and technical training of its proprietary microarray platform at the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, in Rockville, Maryland. In 2010, the NIH will invest more than $31.2 billion in medical research for the American people through 50,000 competitive grants to 325,000 researchers at 3,000 universities, hospitals, companies, medical schools and scientific institutions in the United States and around the world.

21 Sep 2010

Pollution increases risk for sudden cardiac arrest

The fine particles of pollution that hang in the air can increase the risk for sudden cardiac arrest, according to a new study conducted by a team from Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center and The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research.

21 Sep 2010

Public health at risk as Vitamin D evidence mounts

A group of prevention-focused healthcare organizations has expressed deep concern over recently-proposed restrictions to OHIP coverage of Vitamin D testing in the province. The proposed new legislation will delist OHIP insured Vitamin D testing for most Ontarians. Exceptions will be made for those with osteoporosis, malabsorption syndromes, and individuals taking medications that interfere with vitamin D absorption or metabolism.

21 Sep 2010

NIAMS awards $684,000 SBIR grant to Signum Biosciences to develop GPCR modulating therapeutics

Signum Biosciences, Inc. was recently awarded two Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grants by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), a division of the NIH, totaling over $684,000 for development of novel G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) modulating therapeutics designed to treat common skin disorders.

20 Sep 2010

URB937 drug boosts natural painkiller level: Study

A new study has shown how a novel compound boosts levels of a natural painkiller at the site of an injury. The ground-breaking study published today in Nature Neuroscience shows how the potential drug URB937 acts in peripheral tissue and may have the potential to relieve pain without the side effects associated with many current painkillers that act centrally on the nervous system.

20 Sep 2010

Immunotherapy accepted for coverage in MEDLINE®

Future Medicine Ltd announced today that its journal Immunotherapy (ISSN 1750-743X) has been selected for coverage in MEDLINE®. Maintained by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, MEDLINE® (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online) is a premier bibliographic database containing approximately 13 million references to journal articles in life sciences.

19 Sep 2010