Category Archives: News

doctor patient communication

RA Research Briefs: Lung Disease, Remission, Children of RA Patients

Keep up-to-date on the latestrheumatoid arthritis (RA)research with our brief research summaries.

Lung Disease More Likely with RA

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.

SOURCE:Arthritis Care & Research,published online October, 2017

Continue readingRA Research Briefs: Lung Disease, Remission, Children of RA Patients

vitamin d deficiency

RA Research Briefs: Vitamin D, Shingles, Jobs

Keep up-to-date on the latestrheumatoid arthritis (RA)research with our brief research summaries.

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.

SOURCE:International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases,August 31, 2017

Continue readingRA Research Briefs: Vitamin D, Shingles, Jobs

rheumatoid arthritis treatment fda approved

FDA Approves a New Oral Drug for Moderate to Severe RA

People with moderate to severerheumatoid arthritis (RA)who haven’t responded well to one or more tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor medications now have a new option. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved baricitinib (Olumiant), a pill that is taken once a day.

Baricitinib is a targeteddisease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD)that blocks Janus kinase (JAK), a group of enzymes that enable inflammatory signals to be activated inside a cell. It’s the second in this class of drug to hit the market for the treatment of RA; tofacitinib (Xeljanz) was the first, approved in 2012.

“It’s not a biologic but a ‘small molecule,’ or oral, targeted agent, that is highly effective in treating the signs and symptoms of RA,” explains Paul Howard, MD, a rheumatologist in Scottsdale, AZ. It is expected to be significantly cheaper than biologic medications.Continue readingFDA Approves a New Oral Drug for Moderate to Severe RA