Rheumatoid Arthritis News and Research

Latest Rheumatoid Arthritis News and Research

New insight into how nervous system regulates immunity

Scientists have identified a surprising new role for a new type of T cell in the immune system: some of them can be activated by nerves to make a neurotransmitter (acetylcholine) that blocks inflammation. The discovery of these T cells is novel and suggests that it may be possible to treat inflammation and autoimmune diseases by targeting the nerves and the T cells. The study was published this week in Science.

17 Sep 2011

Positive results from PROLOR Biotech's Factor VIIa-CTP preclinical study on hemophilia

PROLOR Biotech, Inc.,, today reported positive results from a comparative study of its biobetter longer-acting version of the hemophilia drug Factor VIIa (Factor VIIa-CTP) in hemophilic mice.

15 Sep 2011

Roundup: N.J. Governor opts not to cut Medicaid rolls; Seattle council mandates sick leave

Thousands of New Jersey's working poor will keep their health insurance under a new administration proposal to restructure Medicaid, abandoning a controversial plan that would have drastically reduced the number of eligible recipients.

14 Sep 2011

Lexicon's LX4211 clinical data presented at EASD annual meeting

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering breakthrough treatments for human disease, announced today that the company is presenting clinical data this week at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) annual meeting in Lisbon, Portugal.

14 Sep 2011

Human gliomas release excess levels of glutamate and trigger seizures

Glioma, one of the most deadly and common types of brain tumor, is often associated with seizures, but the origins of these seizures and effective treatments for them have been elusive. Now a team funded by the National Institutes of Health has found that human gliomas implanted in mice release excess levels of the brain chemical glutamate, overstimulating neurons near the tumor and triggering seizures.

12 Sep 2011

Nektar announces positive results from NKTR-102 Phase 2 study on metastatic breast cancer

Nektar Therapeutics announced today that positive results from the company's Phase 2 clinical study of NKTR-102 in patients with metastatic breast cancer were presented at the ASCO 2011 Breast Cancer Symposium in San Francisco, California.

12 Sep 2011

Researchers identify bouncer protein that plays a vital role in RA prevention

Researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have discovered why the immune cells of people with rheumatoid arthritis become hyperactive and attack the joints and bones. The immune cells have lost their bouncer, the burly protein that keeps them in line the same way a bouncer in a nightclub controls rowdy patrons.

8 Sep 2011

Vertex VX-509 12-week Phase 2a study on RA meets two primary endpoints

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced that treatment with the investigational selective oral JAK3 inhibitor VX-509 in a Phase 2a trial resulted in substantial and statistically significant improvements in multiple measurements of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) activity.

6 Sep 2011

Researchers discover group of mutations involved in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

An international team of researchers has found a group of mutations involved in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), and showed that a group of certain drugs, already in clinical use to treat other diseases, can eliminate the cells carrying these mutations.

5 Sep 2011

UTHealth inaugurates new center for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases research

The University of Texas Health Science at Houston (UTHealth) announced the opening of a center devoted to researching and treating diseases associated with malfunctioning immune systems.

2 Sep 2011

FDA panel on post-approval studies of silicone breast implants

A panel of expert advisors to the FDA has been asked to look into the matter of the thousands of women who enrolled in studies designed to evaluate rare complications that might arise years after they received silicone gel breast implants.

31 Aug 2011

SQI Diagnostics third quarter net loss increases to $2,691,000

SQI Diagnostics Inc., a life sciences company that develops and commercializes proprietary technologies and products for advanced microarray diagnostics, today announced its financial and operational results for the third quarter ended June 30, 2011.

29 Aug 2011

Simcere receives Chinese SFDA approval for Iremod to treat active rheumatoid arthritis

Simcere Pharmaceutical Group, a leading pharmaceutical company specializing in the development, manufacturing, and marketing of branded generic and proprietary pharmaceuticals in China, today announced that it has received the new drug approval from the State Food and Drug Administration for Iremod.

25 Aug 2011

Achievement of physical activity goals linked to reduced arthritis pain, increased quality of life

Researchers from The Netherlands report that patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have higher levels of self-efficacy for physical activity are more likely to achieve their physical activity goals.

25 Aug 2011

Study: More attention needs to be paid for cartilage during RA diagnosis

This could lead to a paradigm shift in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: rheumatologists at the Medical University of Vienna have discovered, through a secondary study involving 3,000 female patients, that the condition of the cartilage in inflammatory joint rheumatism needs to be paid more attention than has previously been the case. Until now, the focus lay mainly on investigating the damage to the bone.

23 Aug 2011

New report on the immunomodulators market outlook to 2016

TNF inhibitors indicated for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease formed the largest share of the market, according to a new report available on companiesandmarkets.com. The top three products: Remicade, Humira and Enbrel accounted for 40.1% of the market in 2010.

23 Aug 2011

Amgen to present data from several Prolia studies at ASBMR 2011 meeting

Amgen today announced that it will present data from several Prolia (denosumab) studies, including eight year efficacy and safety data from a Phase 2 extension study in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis with low bone mineral density (BMD), at the 2011 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) Annual Meeting in San Diego, Calif. from Sept. 16-20, 2011.

19 Aug 2011

CEL-SCI receives Chinese patent for Multikine cancer drug

CEL-SCI Corporation today announced that the Chinese patent office has issued a key patent covering CEL-SCI's investigational cancer drug, Multikine.

18 Aug 2011

FDA accepts Protalix taliglucerase alfa NDA resubmission for review

Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc., announced today that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review the resubmission of the taliglucerase alfa New Drug Application (NDA) following the Company's receipt of a Complete Response Letter (CRL) in February 2011.

17 Aug 2011

Study: Vitamin D directly terminates production of MS-causing protein

While for years scientists have noted an association between levels of vitamin D in a person's body and the person's ability to resist or minimize the effects of multiple sclerosis (MS), the mechanism involved has not been established.

17 Aug 2011