Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Rheumatology for February 2006. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Immunodeficiency May Play Role in Crohn's Disease
TUESDAY, Feb. 28 (HealthDay News) -- The inflammation characteristic of Crohn's disease may be caused by an impairment in innate immunity, a finding that challenges the prevailing wisdom that Crohn's has an autoimmune component, according to a study in the Feb. 25 issue of The Lancet. What's more, sildenafil might play a role in treating the disease.
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Acupuncture Helps Control Chronic Low Back Pain
TUESDAY, Feb. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Acupuncture is more effective at controlling chronic low back pain than no treatment at all, but it is no more effective than a sham acupuncture treatment, according to a study published in the Feb. 27 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Second Methotrexate Course Helps Some RA Patients
FRIDAY, Feb. 24 (HealthDay News) -- A second course of treatment with methotrexate helps almost half of rheumatoid arthritis patients who do not initially respond to the drug or who stop taking it due to adverse events, according to a study published in the February issue of Arthritis Research & Therapy.
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Vioxx Study Co-Authors Defend Disputed NEJM Study
FRIDAY, Feb. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Eleven co-authors of the Vioxx Gastrointestinal Outcomes Research (VIGOR) study who are not employed by Merck and two who are Merck employees say their research, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) on Nov. 23, 2000, was presented in an appropriate manner, according to two letters posted online Feb. 22, in the NEJM. However, the journal's editors were not convinced.
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Anti-TNF-Alpha Therapy May Cause Skin Lesions
FRIDAY, Feb. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Interstitial granulomatous dermatitis (IGD) should be considered as a differential diagnosis of skin lesions associated with anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) therapy for autoimmune disorders such as psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel diseases, according to a study published in the February issue of the Archives of Dermatology.
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Prednisone Use in Rheumatoid Arthritis Linked to Pneumonia
THURSDAY, Feb. 23 (HealthDay News) -- The use of prednisone in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis is associated with a dose-related risk of pneumonia, according to a study published in the February issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.
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New Back Pain Criteria for Ankylosing Spondylitis
THURSDAY, Feb. 23 (HealthDay News) -- A new set of criteria to diagnose inflammatory back pain associated with ankylosing spondylitis may help differentiate the condition from mechanical low back pain, according to a study published in the February issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.
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Glucosamine/Chondroitin Trial Produces Mixed Results
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate alone or together are no more effective than placebo at reducing knee-arthritis pain, although the dietary supplements may be effective in patients with moderate-to-severe knee pain, according to the results of the Glucosamine/chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial (GAIT), published in the Feb. 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Intravenous Immunoglobulin Therapy May Cause Eczema
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 22 (HealthDay News) -- High-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy for inflammatory and autoimmune disorders can cause severe, extensive eczema in rare cases, and patients first experience lesions on the palms and soles that spread to other parts of the body, according to a study published in the February issue of the Archives of Dermatology.
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Tissue Eosinophilia Can Predict Drug-Induced Vasculitis
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Tissue eosinophilia can reliably predict whether a patient's cutaneous small-vessel vasculitis is a drug-induced type that generally has a short-term disease course without systemic involvement, researchers report in the February issue of the Archives of Dermatology.
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More Carotid Artery Plaque in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients
TUESDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with rheumatoid arthritis are more likely to have atherosclerotic plaque build-up in their carotid arteries even when traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors are taken into account, according to a report in the Feb. 21 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Behavior Problems a Risk in Immunodeficient Children
MONDAY, Feb. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Children with immunodeficiency disorders can have significant behavioral problems, including depression, anxiety, social withdrawal and psychiatric diagnoses, and disease severity is associated with a greater likelihood of problems, researchers report in the February issue of the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.
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Gene Variants Affect Efficacy of Anti-Malarials in Lupus Patients
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who carry genetic polymorphisms for tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) that cause abnormally high and low levels, respectively, are those who respond best to anti-malarial drugs used to treat the disease, a Spanish team reports in the February issue of Arthritis Research & Therapy.
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Four Main Danger Signs of Pregnancy Loss in Lupus
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 8 (HealthDay News) -- There are four key danger signs of pregnancy loss in women with lupus -- proteinuria, thrombocytopenia, hypertension and antiphospholipid syndrome, according to a study in the February issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
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Serum Antibody May Be Sign of Early Multiple Sclerosis
TUESDAY, Feb. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Serum antibodies to myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG), a membrane protein expressed in the central nervous system, may be a biomarker for the early stages of multiple sclerosis, according to a study in animals and humans published online Feb. 6 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Multiple Sclerosis Progression is Slower Than Thought
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Multiple sclerosis (MS) progresses to disability more slowly than previous studies have suggested, and neither being male nor an older age at onset is associated with worse disease outcome, Canadian researchers report in the Jan. 24 issue of Neurology.
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Fifty-Year Study Shows MS Rates Up in Norwegian County
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- A new study shows that the incidence of multiple sclerosis (MS) in a Norwegian county has more than tripled in 50 years, in contrast to previous studies showing fluctuating rates. The results, published in the January issue of Neurology, suggest that either exogenous factors or the way studies are conducted may be responsible for changes in MS incidence.
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