Copyright 2008 Medical News Today Latest Arthritis News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/arthritis/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Fri, 09 May 2008 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106956.php More than half of adults with diagnosed diabetes also have arthritis, a painful condition that can be a barrier to physical activity-an important health strategy for managing diabetes, according to a study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in today′s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.Nationwide, 46.4 million adults have arthritis and 20.6 million adults have diabetes, with nearly 7 in 10 having had diabetes diagnosed by a health professional. Fri, 09 May 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106862.php About half of US adults with diabetes also have arthritis, which appears to be a barrier, in addition to lack of time and being too busy with other things, because they are not sure what exercise is appropriate and they are concerned about aggravating joint pain and causing further damage. The researchers suggest health care providers pay special attention to arthritis-related barriers among diabetics who are not physically active. Fri, 09 May 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106895.php A common, incurable joint disease, osteoarthritis (OA) is the leading cause of disability in elderly people. While nearly any joint can be affected, OA most often strikes the knee, particularly the inner aspect of the tibiofemoral joint. One source of stress on this vulnerable joint compartment is the knee adduction moment, an indication of weight placement while walking. Fri, 09 May 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106893.php Along with age and injuries, obesity is a leading risk factor for osteoarthritis (OA), a painful and disabling joint disease. While excessive weight can aggravate the toll on almost any joint, obesity has been associated with a higher prevalence of hip OA and an increase in total hip arthroplasty (THA). Whether obese hip OA patients are more prone to postsurgical complications, however, remains open to debate and investigation, since the results of existing studies conflict. Fri, 09 May 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106892.php Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that strikes children between the ages of newborn to 16 years. All children with JRA have joint pain, stiffness, and swelling and some also have fever and skin rashes. JRA can impede growth, damage joints, and lead to disability in adulthood. Fri, 09 May 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106890.php It's an unfortunate fact backed by studies of former professional football and soccer players: injury to joint cartilage escalates the risk of developing of osteoarthritis (OA). However, why this occurs - the details of how joint cartilage cells respond to acute trauma and how this response leads to progressive cartilage degradation - remains open to investigation. Fri, 09 May 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106813.php Roche Diagnostics announced the launch of a fully-automated immunoassay for the determination of autoantibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptides (Anti-CCP). The assay has been CE approved for use on the Elecsys / cobas e electrochemiluminescence immunoassay systems. The results of the Anti-CCP assay are intended to be used as an aid in the diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis (in combination with other clinical and laboratory findings). Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106684.php Trubion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: TRBN) announced that its partner, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (NYSE: WYE), has commenced patient dosing in the next Phase 2b clinical trial of TRU-015 in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In collaboration with Trubion, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals is developing TRU-015, SBI-087 and other CD20-directed products. Tue, 06 May 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106333.php Tick bites generate fears of Lyme disease in every parent, but this study of 99 children finds that one of Lyme's complications -- arthritis -- has a good prognosis. Researchers led by Robert Sundel, MD, a rheumatologist at Children's, found that 77 percent of children were cured with less than 3 months of antibiotic treatment. The remainder were also ultimately relieved of their arthritis, though additional treatment (usually one month of intravenous antibiotics) was required. Mon, 05 May 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106220.php A tool with the potential to determine the level of tissue damage in patients with osteo-arthritis, sports injuries and other conditions affecting bone and cartilage is being developed by QUT researchersProfessor Oloyede said that the device, which he calls a "smarthroscope", may be able to reduce the cost of surgery, eliminate unnecessary surgery, and could be useful in developing countries. Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106184.php The failure of the UK National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) to approve treatment of the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) drug abatacept on the National Health Service (NHS) is discussed in the lead Editorial in this week's Lancet. Abatacept, is, with rituximab and tocilizumab, one of three new drug classes that have shown clinically significant improvement for the treatment for RA. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/105738.php A leading arthritis charity accused the government's health rationing watchdog of 'penny-pinching' in its decision to refuse thousands of people the chance to try an alternative life-changing anti-TNF drug if a first does not work for them. 'Anti-TNFs can slow down the progress of rheumatoid arthritis. We hear so much about NHS choice but patients and clinicians alike will be frustrated by the decision to limit treatment options in this way. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/105730.php A decision by NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) means that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients will not have access to a second anti-TNF treatment if the first one is found to be unsuitable. The Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance says this latest decision seems to have forgotten all about patient choice in England, while those in Scotland will be able to move from one treatment to another if the first one proved unsuitable. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/105567.php MorphoSys AG (FSE: MOR; Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX) announced the completion of a first dosing regimen in a phase 1 clinical study on healthy volunteers of the HuCAL-derived antibody MOR103 with no adverse events reported. Six healthy volunteers in the first dosing group have been enrolled and received MOR103 injections, three volunteers received placebo. The safety review of the medical data from the lowest dosing group concluded that it was safe to proceed to the second dosing group. Fri, 25 Apr 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/105243.php New pan-European data presented at the British Society of Rheumatology's annual meeting in Liverpool demonstrate that patients treated with Enbrel® (etanercept) required significantly lower dose escalation than patients treated with infliximab and adalimumab in the first 12 months of therapy. The latter two anti-TNF agents (ATAs) for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis are monoclonal antibodies while etanercept is a soluble TNF receptor. Wed, 23 Apr 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/104967.php Painful foot problems suffered by people with arthritis are seriously neglected and are subject to huge and unacceptable regional variations, according to a team of foot care experts. Only a quarter of patients who need foot health care have adequate access to NHS services, and only half of all hospital rheumatology departments in the UK are able to access adequate basic foot care services for their patients. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/104825.php Trubion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: TRBN) announced that its collaboration partner Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (NYSE: WYE), has initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial of SBI-087, a next-generation drug candidate for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In collaboration with Trubion, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals is developing SBI-087 and other CD20-directed products. Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/104744.php Abbott announced that it has received approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for HUMIRA® (adalimumab) for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in patients with inadequate response to conventional therapy. This approval is the first for HUMIRA in Japan, where Abbott co-developed and will co-market HUMIRA with Eisai Co., Ltd. HUMIRA is now approved in 75 countries for rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune disease indications. Sun, 20 Apr 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/104407.php More than 20 million Americans suffer from osteoarthritis, with half a million Americans having a total joint replacement each year. A new study to be published in the April 2008 edition (Volume 22, issue No 4) of the journal of Phytotherapy Research shows Pycnogenol (pic-noj-en-all), an antioxidant plant extract from the bark of the French maritime pine tree, was shown to reduce all osteoarthritis symptoms by 56 percent. Sat, 19 Apr 2008 07:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/104668.php Doctors were amazed when Alex Lenkei, a professional hypnotist, underwent a thumb operation which required sawing and chiseling of a bone without any anesthetic - and he said he did not feel a thing during the 80-minute operation at Worthing and Southlands Hospital, West Sussex, England. Lenkei needed a bone removed from the base of his thumb. The surgeon then had to fuse some joints together. The successful operation should improve Lenkei's arthritis and give him more mobility. Fri, 18 Apr 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/104445.php Australia's adult stem cell company, Mesoblast Limited (ASX: MSB; USOTC: MBLTY), announced successful long-term results in its osteoarthritis preclinical trials. A single injection of its proprietary allogeneic, or "off-the-shelf", adult stem cells into arthritic knees provided sustained protection against cartilage destruction and degeneration for up to nine months. Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/104464.php Merck & Co., Inc. today said it is committed tohigh standards of scientific integrity and ethics, and believes that many of the comments in aJournal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) news release and in the April 16 issue ofJAMA1 related to VIOXX are false, misleading or lack context. The Company said it was notgiven an opportunity to respond prior to publication. Thu, 17 Apr 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/104338.php Findings published in the open access journal BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders shows that the latest class of drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are better than standard anti-inflammatories.RA is a chronic, debilitating, inflammatory disease of the joints, which is usually treated with anti-inflammatory drugs such as methotrexate or steroids. Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/104278.php Roche announced that their alliance partner company Chugai has received approval in Japan for the use of its innovative treatment, Actemra (tocilizumab), in patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/104316.php In medical articles and court documents about rofecoxib, it has becomeapparent that company employees or another unacknowledged authors wereoften involved in writing the clinical trial and review articles, whileprimary authorship was awarded to academically affiliated investigatorswho may have been only peripherally related to the study. Thesedocuments were examined and published in the April 16, 2008 issue of JAMA.