Copyright 2010 Medical News TodayLatest Health News and Medical News posted throughout the day, every day.http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/arthritis/admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin)editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors)en-us Fri, 05 Feb 2010 02:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3xfPhttp://mnt.to/f/3xfPHospital for Special Surgery, (HSS), a world leader in orthopedics and rheumatology, announced its support of the Arthritis Foundation and Ad Council newly launched campaign, "Moving is the Best Medicine," to raise awareness of osteoarthritis, increase public health education and support breakthrough research...Arthritis / Rheumatology Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3xfbhttp://mnt.to/f/3xfbAs the U.S. population ages, manufacturers of consumer goods are realizing that many customers may not be as nimble-fingered or sharp-sighted as they once were...Arthritis / Rheumatology Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3xc6http://mnt.to/f/3xc6Levels of inflammatory proteins, so-called cytokines, are elevated in the blood even before the onset of arthritic rheumatism...Arthritis / Rheumatology Wed, 03 Feb 2010 03:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3x8hhttp://mnt.to/f/3x8hThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Xiaflex (collagenase clostridium histolyticum) as the first drug to treat a progressive hand disease known as Dupuytren's contracture, which can affect a person's ability to straighten and properly use their fingers. Dupuytren's contracture affects the connective tissue found beneath the skin in the palm of the hand...Arthritis / Rheumatology Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3x6Bhttp://mnt.to/f/3x6BNorthwestern University researchers are the first to design a bioactive nanomaterial that promotes the growth of new cartilage in vivo and without the use of expensive growth factors. Minimally invasive, the therapy activates the bone marrow stem cells and produces natural cartilage. No conventional therapy can do this. The results will be published online the week of Feb...Stem Cell Research Tue, 02 Feb 2010 04:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3x6fhttp://mnt.to/f/3x6f University of Queensland researchers have been part of a major breakthrough in understanding the cause of the debilitating arthritic condition ankylosing spondylitis (AS)...Arthritis / Rheumatology Tue, 02 Feb 2010 02:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3x4Yhttp://mnt.to/f/3x4YIn the new Swedish-Finnish study, published in Nature Genetics, the researchers identified five loci that predispose to an SLE-related disease in Nova Scotia duck tolling retrievers. The study indicates that the homogeneity of strong genetic risk factors within dog breeds make dogs an excellent model in which to identify pathways involved in human complex diseases...Genetics Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3wZ4http://mnt.to/f/3wZ4Investigators have identified a biomarker that could help doctors select patients with rheumatoid arthritis who will benefit from therapy with drugs such as Enbrel, a tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-antagonist drug...Arthritis / Rheumatology Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3wZjhttp://mnt.to/f/3wZjYou'd think folks who've had knee replacement surgery -- finally able to walk and exercise without pain -- would lose weight instead of put on pounds, but surprisingly that's not the case, according to a University of Delaware study...Arthritis / Rheumatology Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3wY8http://mnt.to/f/3wY8A researcher from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine has invented a novel way to halt and even reverse rheumatoid arthritis. He developed an imitation of a suicide molecule that floats undetected into overactive immune cells responsible for the disease. Whimsically referred to as Casper the Ghost, the stealthy molecule causes the immune cells to self-destruct...Arthritis / Rheumatology Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3wVrhttp://mnt.to/f/3wVrA recent study by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh found that workers with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were comparable to non-impaired individuals in keyboarding speed. Individuals who were trained in touch typing demonstrated faster typing speeds than those using a visually-guided ("hunt and peck") method, regardless of impairment...Arthritis / Rheumatology Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3wVwhttp://mnt.to/f/3wVwA recent study by researchers from the Cleveland Clinic found that the overall mortality rate in the U.S. for all pediatric patients with rheumatic diseases was not worse than the age and sex-adjusted population. Furthermore, mortality rates were significantly lower than reported in previous studies of rheumatic diseases and conditions that are associated with increased mortality...Arthritis / Rheumatology Thu, 28 Jan 2010 06:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3wTZhttp://mnt.to/f/3wTZAMA Vice President and Chair of the AMA Taskforce on Indigenous Health, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that RHDAustralia is an important first step towards eradicating rheumatic heart disease among Indigenous people. The Government has provided RHDAustralia with $2...Heart Disease Thu, 28 Jan 2010 05:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3wVxhttp://mnt.to/f/3wVxResearchers from University Hospital in Umea, Sweden, have identified several cytokines, cytokine-related factors, and chemokines that increase significantly prior to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease onset. These findings confirm those of earlier studies which suggest that the risk of developing RA can be predicted and disease progression may be prevented...Arthritis / Rheumatology Tue, 26 Jan 2010 08:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3wMZhttp://mnt.to/f/3wMZBristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) announced that on 20 January 2010, the European Commission approved ORENCIA® (abatacept) in combination with methotrexate for the treatment of moderate to severe active polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (pJIA) in paediatric patients six years of age and older who have had an insufficient response to other DMARDS, including ...Arthritis / Rheumatology Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3wNphttp://mnt.to/f/3wNpThe links between autoimmune diseases, infections, genetics and the environment are complex and mysterious...Arthritis / Rheumatology Mon, 25 Jan 2010 01:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3wJRhttp://mnt.to/f/3wJROsteoarthritis (OA) is one of the ten most disabling diseases in the developed world and is set to become more of a financial burden on health services as average life expectancy increases. OA is the most common form of arthritis, affecting nearly 27 million Americans or 12.1% of the adult population of the United States, according to Laurence et al...Arthritis / Rheumatology Sun, 24 Jan 2010 01:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3wHxhttp://mnt.to/f/3wHxResearchers at Geisinger Medical Center recently received funding totaling more than $44,000 from a Geisinger Health System (GHS) - NYU Langone Medical Center (NYULMC) collaborative project focusing on personalized healthcare...Bones / Orthopaedics Fri, 22 Jan 2010 03:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3wFRhttp://mnt.to/f/3wFRFinal draft guidance published today (Thursday 21st January 2010) by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) will enable another therapy to be considered for some people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland suffering with rheumatoid arthritis. In the draft, certolizumab pegol is now recommended as a treatment option for some patients with the disease...Arthritis / Rheumatology Tue, 19 Jan 2010 02:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3wvhhttp://mnt.to/f/3wvhMorphoSys AG (FSE: MOR; Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX) announced that it has enrolled the first patient in its Phase 1b/2a clinical trial of its lead drug MOR103...Arthritis / Rheumatology Thu, 14 Jan 2010 03:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3wjchttp://mnt.to/f/3wjcHospital for Special Surgery announced that Mary K. Crow, M.D. has been appointed physician-in-chief and chair of the Division of Rheumatology. This appointment is effective as of April 1. Dr...Arthritis / Rheumatology Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3wgXhttp://mnt.to/f/3wgXA team of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers has created the strongest form of collagen known to science, a stable alternative to human collagen that could one day be used to treat arthritis and other conditions that result from collagen defects...Arthritis / Rheumatology Wed, 13 Jan 2010 02:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3wdRhttp://mnt.to/f/3wdR Friday, January 8, 2010, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ACTEMRA® (tocilizumab), a new biologic response modifier for adult patients with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA)...Arthritis / Rheumatology Tue, 12 Jan 2010 03:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3wbvhttp://mnt.to/f/3wbvThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Actemra (tocilizumab) on Friday to treat adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis who have not adequately responded to or cannot tolerate other approved drug classes for rheumatoid arthritis...Arthritis / Rheumatology Tue, 12 Jan 2010 01:00:00 PSThttp://mnt.to/f/3w9chttp://mnt.to/f/3w9cTrubion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRBN) announced that its collaboration partner, Pfizer, has initiated a Phase 2 clinical trial of SBI-087 (PF-05230895) for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). SBI-087 is a next-generation, humanized Small Modular ImmunoPharmaceutical (SMIP(TM)) protein therapeutic directed against the CD20 antigen...Arthritis / Rheumatology