Osteoarthritis News and Research

Latest Osteoarthritis News and Research

Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy safer than bariatric and metabolic surgery

Studies from Stanford University, Cleveland Clinic Florida and the Naval Medical Center in San Diego show laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, an increasingly popular surgical procedure where the stomach is reduced by 85 percent, is as safe as or safer than laparoscopic gastric bypass or gastric banding. The studies* were presented here at the 29th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).

21 Jun 2012

Grunenthal to commercialize Horizon Pharma's DUEXIS in Latin America

Horizon Pharma, Inc. a biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing innovative medicines to target unmet therapeutic needs in arthritis, pain and inflammatory diseases, today announced that it entered into an exclusive agreement with Grunenthal for the commercialization of DUEXIS in Latin America.

19 Jun 2012

Hyaluronic acid injections ‘discouraged’ for knee osteoarthritis

Intra-articular injections of hyaluronic acid offer a small, clinically irrelevant decrease in osteoarthritis knee pain at the risk for serious adverse events, suggest the results of a review and meta-analysis.

19 Jun 2012

Mallinckrodt, Horizon enter co-promotion agreement for DUEXIS

Mallinckrodt, the Pharmaceuticals business of Covidien, today announced that it has entered into a co-promotion agreement with Horizon Pharma, Inc. to promote DUEXIS (ibuprofen and famotidine).

18 Jun 2012

Multipronged approach relieves osteoarthritis pain

Using behavioral weight-management strategies alongside standard pain-coping skills training reduces the level of disability and pain experienced by overweight or obese individuals with osteoarthritis, US study results suggest.

13 Jun 2012

iWalk announces availability of BiOM bionic lower limb system for above-knee amputees

iWalk, the personal bionics company advancing technology to restore natural movement for lower-limb amputees, today announced the availability of its BiOM bionic lower limb system for above-knee amputees.

13 Jun 2012

Ampio’s CRO completes Optina clinical trial for DME

Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, whose lead drugs treat inflammatory diseases, including osteoarthritis and complications of Diabetes Mellitus such as diabetic macular edema (and others) announced today that it's CRO has completed analysis of the primary end point in the Optina clinical trial for DME conducted at St Michael Diabetes Hospital in Toronto Canada.

11 Jun 2012

Smoking RA patients don't respond to anti-TNF drugs

A new study presented today at EULAR 2012, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, reinforces current thinking that smoking negatively affects treatment response in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients treated with anti-tumour necrosis factor (anti-TNF) drugs.

8 Jun 2012

Hypocaloric diet may help achieve minimal disease activity in psoriatic arthritis patients

According to a study presented today at EULAR 2012, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who are starting anti-tumour necrosis factor (anti-TNF) treatment and adhere to a hypocaloric diet have a significantly greater chance of achieving minimal disease activity (MDA, an important measure of disease activity) at six months compared to those on a standard diet.

8 Jun 2012

Lung changes in association with ACPA status are a primary manifestation of RA

A new study presented today at EULAR 2012, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, shows that lung changes in association with anti-citrullinated protein autoantibody (ACPA) status are a primary manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

8 Jun 2012

Data from abatacept versus adalimumab Phase IIIb comparison study on RA

Data from one of the few head-to-head trials in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) presented today at EULAR 2012, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, demonstrates that at one year, 64.8% of patients receiving abatacept (Orencia) and 63.4% of patients receiving adalimumab (Humira) achieved ACR20.

8 Jun 2012

Study packs powerful one-two punch in the fight against heart failure

A new study in the journal Circulation packs a powerful one-two punch in the fight against heart failure. The leading blow: Identification of a unique alliance of proteins that plays a major role in the development of the disease. The second but equally powerful hit: Drugs that interfere with this axis already exist.

8 Jun 2012

Patients over 45 years with history of early menopause 50% less likely to develop severe RA

A new study presented today at EULAR 2012, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, shows that early menopause predicts a milder form of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

8 Jun 2012

Study calls for more aggressive management of osteoporosis in the extreme elderly

A new American study presented today at EULAR 2012, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, calls for more aggressive management of osteoporosis in the extreme elderly as the true impact of osteoporotic hip fractures in those aged 80 years or older is unveiled.

8 Jun 2012

Anti-TNFs increase risk of shingles in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases

Patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRD) treated with anti-tumour necrosis factor medications (anti-TNFs) have a 75% greater risk of developing herpes zoster, or shingles, than patients treated with traditional disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), according to a meta-analysis presented today at EULAR 2012, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism.

8 Jun 2012

Initial HSCT results from phase III trial on systemic sclerosis

Initial results from an international, investigator-initiated, open label phase III trial were presented at EULAR 2012, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism. Data indicate that haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) results in better long term survival than conventional treatment for patients with poor prognosis early diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis.

7 Jun 2012

Biologic treatments reduce mortality risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

According to a study presented today at EULAR 2012, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who are prescribed biologic treatments have a significantly lower mortality risk (adjusted hazard ratio [HR]: 0.61) than those just treated with traditional disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs).The study also found the mortality was similar irrespective of the method of action of biologics (anti-tumour necrosis factor drugs [anti-TNFs] or rituximab).

7 Jun 2012

ADACTA trial: Tocilizumab more effective than adalimumab in treating RA

Data presented today at EULAR 2012, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, demonstrates that tocilizumab monotherapy is more effective than adalimumab monotherapy in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) based on change from baseline in DAS28 (-3.3 vs. -1.8, p<0.0001) at week 24.

7 Jun 2012

Study identifies 5 biomarkers that may predict progression of spinal damage in AS patients

A new study presented today at EULAR 2012, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, has identified five biomarkers that may predict the progression of structural damage in the spine of patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) who are already at high risk of disease progression.

7 Jun 2012

Tart cherries may help reduce chronic inflammation in people with osteoarthritis

Tart cherries may help reduce chronic inflammation, especially for the millions of Americans suffering from debilitating joint pain and arthritis, according to new research from Oregon Health & Science University presented today at the American College of Sports Medicine Conference (ACSM) in San Francisco, Calif.

31 May 2012