Half Of Adults At Risk For Painful Knee Arthritis

A landmark government study suggests nearly one in two people (46%) will develop painful knee osteoarthritis over their lifetime, with the highest risk among those who are obese. According to the Arthritis Foundation, the study underscores the immediate need for the public to understand what they can do to reduce the tremendous pain, disability and cost associated with arthritis. Arthritis is exploding in an aging population of U.S. baby boomers. Nearly one in five U.S.

Third Clinical Trial Shows Pine Bark Naturally Reduces Knee Osteoarthritis

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), osteoarthritis, the most common type of arthritis, is on the rise. A new study published in the August journal of Phytotherapy Research, reveals Pycnogenol, bark extract from the French maritime pine tree, reduced overall knee osteoarthritis (OA) symptoms by 20.9 percent and lowered pain by 40.3 percent. To date, this is the third clinical trial on osteoarthritis treatment with Pycnogenol.

Amgen And Wyeth Statement On The FDA Safety Announcement Regarding Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) Blockers

Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (NYSE: WYE), issued a statement in response to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) safety announcement regarding opportunistic fungal infections in patients treated with Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) blockers [marketed as Remicade^ (infliximab), Enbrel^ (etanercept), Humira^ (adalimumab) and Cimzia^ (certolizumab pegol)].

Logical Therapeutics Inc. Commences Double-Blind, Randomized Study Of Their Lead Program, LT-NS001

Logical Therapeutics, Inc., announced the commencement of its double-blind, randomized, active-controlled, multinational study of LT-NS001, a novel prodrug, which is converted in the bloodstream to naproxen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). NSAIDs are the most common medications taken worldwide for the treatment of pain, inflammation, fever and arthritis, including both rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA).

Asian-Americans, Blacks More Skeptical Of Joint Replacement Surgery Than Whites, Study Finds

Blacks and Asian-Americans perceive joint replacement surgery as a riskier procedure than whites do, according to a study published in the August issue of the Journal of Rheumatology, Reuters Health reports. For the study, lead researcher Rajiv Ghandi of the

Osteoarthritis Not Relieved By Knee Surgery

In what has been described as a landmark study, scientists in Canada have found that a routine knee operation undergone by many patients with osteoarthritis does not relieve joint pain or improve knee function. The study was the work of researchers at the The University of Western Ontario and Lawson Health Research Institute, both in London, Ontario, Canada, and appears in the September 11th issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, NEJM.

Landmark Study Finds Popular Surgery Provides No Relief For Osteoarthritis Of The Knee

A landmark study conducted in London, Canada at The University of Western Ontario and Lawson Health Research Institute shows that a routinely practiced knee surgery is ineffective at reducing joint pain or improving joint function for sufferers of osteoarthritis. The study appears in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Clinicians Debate Use Of Arthroscopy In Patients With Osteoarthritis

In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) issue of Sept. 11, 2008, investigators concluded that arthroscopic surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee provides no additional benefit to optimized physical and medical therapy. In an accompanying editorial, however, Robert G. Marx, M.D.

Survival Instincts Propel 'Difficult Patient' To Insist On Quality Care

Michelle Mayer had to become a "difficult patient" before she could get her physicians to accurately diagnose the disease that was destroying her health. And once the diagnosis was made, she had to continue to be what many physicians describe as "difficult" before she could get the best treatment for scleroderma, a chronic autoimmune disease in which hardening of the skin is a major element.

Psychological Therapies Ease Arthritis Pain

Arthritis sufferers can alleviate their pain by using mental imagery and hypnotherapy. This is the finding of Bryan Bennett and colleagues from Bangor University who presented their findings on the11 September 2008, at The British Psychological Society's Division of Health Psychology Annual Conference held at the University of Bath. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, progressive and disabling auto-immune disease affecting 0.8% of the UK adult population.

Gender Differences In Experience Of Rheumatism

Rheumatoid arthritis is often a more painful experience for women than it is for men, even though the visible symptoms are the same. Scientists are now saying that doctors should take more account of these subjective differences when assessing the need for medication. This and other findings are being presented at a congress currently in progress on gender medicine arranged by Karolinska Institutet.

Physical Therapy As Effective As Arthroscopic Knee Surgery, New Research Finds

A new study questioning the usefulness of arthroscopic surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee should encourage patients to consider physical therapy as an effective non-surgical option, according to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

Canakinumab (ACZ885), A New Biological Drug In Development, Shows Potential In Treating The Most Severe Form Of Arthritis In Children

Canakinumab (ACZ885), a fully human monoclonal antibody currently in development to treat a wide range of autoinflammatory diseases, has been shown to rapidly control the disease's symptoms in children affected by Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (SJIA)1 with fever and arthritis, a kind of juvenile arthritis where interleukin-1 plays a pivotal role in the majority of patients causing inflammation and tissue destruction.

Funding From The NIH For Multiple Disease-Related Research

Stephen Smiley, Ph.D., a member of the scientific faculty at the Trudeau Institute, whose research could lead to new treatments for several common diseases, has been awarded a research grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for nearly $2 million. Dr. Smiley and members of his laboratory are working to develop treatments for a number of diseases where an abnormal activation of blood coagulation pathways causes damage to the body.

2008 World Congress On Osteoarthritis

2008 World Congress on Osteoarthritis. September 18 - 21, 2008 Rome Marriott Park Hotel Rome, Italy. 2009 OARSI World Congress has an exciting programe featuring speakers from around the world. This year's opening-day session will feature plenary sessions devoted to a comprehensive overview of current clinical trials for osteoarthritis, outcomes, and the current exciting basic science that fuels the endeavor to make a difference in patients' lives.

Out Of Joint

As America's Baby Boomers jog into the 21st century, joint pain from the most common form of arthritis continues to be a number one disabler. Until now, there has been no way to diagnose the disease until it reaches an advanced stage, after both irreversible joint damage and severe symptoms have already set in. A new diagnostic technique from Tel Aviv University and New York University may keep Baby Boomers running through their golden years.

Emisphere Announces Recruitment Phase III Study For Oral Osteoarthritis Treatment

Emisphere Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: EMIS) announced that Novartis Pharma AG and Nordic Bioscience have completed recruitment for a multi-center Phase III study exploring the safety and efficacy of an oral formulation of salmon calcitonin using Emisphere's proprietary Eligen Technology to treat patients with osteoarthritis of the knee.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Prevalence Is Lower Among Asians And Higher Among American Indians, Compared With Blacks And Whites In The U.S.

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms focusing on pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that in the U.S. rheumatoid arthritis prevalence is lower among Asians and higher among American Indians, compared with the prevalence among Blacks and Whites. The new analytics tool entitled PatientFinder: Rheumatoid Arthritis also reveals that rheumatoid arthritis prevalence in the U.S. varies by how urban or rural the population is.

Discovery Of New Drug Target For Inflammatory Disease By UC Davis Researchers

UC Davis researchers have defined a cellular process that promotes inflammation and, at the same time, found an important starting point for identifying and testing new drugs for diseases such as sepsis, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease and some cancers.

Data Supports Safety Record Of ENBREL(R) As Continuous Therapy In Children And Adolescents With Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Wyeth announced study results from last week's 15th Paediatric Rheumatology European Congress (PRES) in London which highlight the safety record of etanercept (ENBREL(R)) as a continuous therapy in children and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).(1) The study was designed to evaluate the safety of ENBREL in children with polyarticular or systemic JIA.

Chronic Hepatitis C Infection In A Patient With Bone Marrow Hypoplasia

HCV is acquired by intravenous drug abuse, sexually or via blood transfusion (rare nowadays due to the effective screening of blood products before transfusion). HCV is known to cause chronic infection in 80% - 90% of the patients becoming infected. Patients present with varying degrees of altered liver function ranging from mild cirrhosis to necrosis (liver cell death).

Working Environment Is One Cause Of Rheumatoid Arthritis

It has long been known that environmental factors play a part in the development of rheumatoid arthritis; smoking and drinking alcohol, along with heredity, are particularly instrumental in increasing the risk of the disease. Scientists at Karolinska Institutet have now produced results that suggest that working environment factors can also increase the chances of developing rheumatoid arthritis.

Occupational Therapy Gets People With Osteoarthritis Moving

Physical activity is the cornerstone of any healthy lifestyle - and especially for people with osteoarthritis as exercise helps maintain good joint health, manage their symptoms, and prevent functional decline. Osteoarthritis, however, often makes physical activity, such as exercise, and even performing daily activities, a challenge.

Pain Is Not A Symptom Of Arthritis, Pain Causes Arthritis: New Study

Pain is more than a symptom of osteoarthritis, it is an inherent and damaging part of the disease itself, according to a study published today in journal Arthritis and Rheumatism. More specifically, the study revealed that pain signals originating in arthritic joints, and the biochemical processing of those signals as they reach the spinal cord, worsen and expand arthritis.

Supplements No Better Than Placebo In Slowing Cartilage Loss In Knees Of Osteoarthritis Patients

In a two-year multicenter study led by University of Utah doctors, the dietary supplements glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate performed no better than placebo in slowing the rate of cartilage loss in the knees of osteoarthritis patients. This was an ancillary study concurrently conducted on a subset of the patients who were enrolled in the prospective, randomized GAIT (Glucosamine/chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial).