Rheumatoid arthritis may increase the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an inflammatorylung diseasethat makes breathing difficult, a new study shows. A Canadian study, which analyzed data from 24,265 patients with RA and 25,396 controls, found that people with RA had a 47% greater risk of being hospitalized for COPD than members of the general population.
Vitamin D Deficiency Associated with Neuropathic Pain
People with RA who suffer from neuropathic pain – or, understandably, are trying to avoid it – may do well to have theirvitamin D levelschecked. A study examined neuropathic pain indicators as well as blood samples of 93 patients with RA. The researchers found the prevalence of neuropathic pain was almost six times higher in patients with serum vitamin D levels below 20 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) than in patients with vitamin D levels ≥ 30 ng/mL. Anything below 20 ng/mL is considered a deficiency.
Remission in RA patientscan be harder to achieve in those who are overweight or smoke, according to a recent study. American and Canadian researchers who collected data on more than 1,100 patients receiving standard treatment for RA found that sex (being female),excess weightandsmokingwere not significantly associated with symptom severity early on. However, all three factors influenced how much symptoms improved over time. The most dramatic differences in symptoms were seen in patients who were overweight or obese and smoked, the study found.
People who haverheumatoid arthritis (RA)are known to be more likely to develop other serious health problems, includingheart disease,lung diseaseand some types of cancer. Now a recent study in the online journalPLOS Oneappears to indicate they also have a higher risk of developingtype 2 diabetes.
People withrheumatoid arthritis (RA)have roughly twice the risk of healthy older adults of developing shingles, a virus related to chickenpox that causes pain and a blistering rash.
Most adults have been exposed to varicella zoster virus, which causes chickenpox. This virus is never completely cleared from our bodies, but lies quietly in spinal nerve cells. If it’s reactivated it causes shingles, explains rheumatologist Jeffrey Curtis, MD, professor medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The reactivated virus is called herpes zoster or shingles.
For years,fibromyalgiawas a mystery illness. No one knew what caused it, how to diagnose it or how best to treat it. Some people, including doctors, even questioned its existence. In the last few years, however, researchers have cleared up some of the mystery. Although much about fibromyalgia still isn’t understood completely, two things are clear: It’s very real, and it affects a disproportionate number of people withrheumatoid arthritis(RA). Continue readingRA With a Side of Fibromyalgia→
Researchers set out to answer a pressing question: Is it safe forrheumatoid arthritis(RA) patients who have had cancer in the past to use a biologic drug rather than a traditional disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD), like methotrexate, to control their disease? Their answer, detailed in a study recently published online in the journalRheumatology,是让人放心。他们发现,与那些服用传统DMARD的患者相比,之前患有恶性肿瘤的患者在平均5年后服用某些生物制剂,似乎没有增加患癌症的风险。 Continue readingBiologics Appear Safe for Some Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Who’ve Had Cancer→
People withrheumatoid arthritis(RA) who are obese are less likely to achieve disease remission than their non-obese counterparts, according to a meta-analysis published in May in关节炎护理与研究。The review also found that obesity was associated with higher levels of disease activity and pain, suggesting excess weight may negatively affect overall outcomes in RA. This meta-analysis supports earlier research, including astudypresented at the 2015 annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology. Continue readingNew Research: Obesity May Reduce the Chance of RA Remission by as Much as Half→
If you have a few – or a lot – of pounds to lose, you know that carrying excess weight around can stress your painful or fragile joints. But research shows that the mechanical effects of weight are just part of the problem.
Fat itself releases chemicals including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1 (IL-1) that promote inflammation. These chemicals may not only increase the risk of developing some forms of arthritis, but they may also increase arthritis severity or make it harder to control.
In fact a study presented at the 2015 annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology found that for people with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA), being overweight or obese can reduce the chance of achieving sustained remission. Continue readingBeing Overweight Can Hurt Rheumatoid Arthritis Remission→