Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes inflammation and deformity of the joints. Other problems throughout the body (systemic problems) may also develop, including inflammation of blood vessels (vasculitis), the development of bumps (called rheumatoid nodules) in various parts of the body, lung disease, blood disorders, and weakening of the bones (osteoporosis).
Rheumatoid arthritis rising among women in USAfter four decades on the decline, rheumatoid arthritis is on the upswing among women in the United States. That's the finding presented by Mayo Clinic investigators at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology/Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals in San Francisco.
Pain is not a symptom of arthritis, pain causes arthritisPain 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.
Rheumatoid arthritis risk higher in people with high birth weightPeople who have a birth weight over 10 pounds are twice as likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis when they are adults compared to individuals born with an average birth weight, according to a study published by researchers from Hospital for Special Surgery online in advance of print in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.
Safer effective way to treat Crohn's diseaseA new study established the new alternative strategy, called "top-down" therapy, to treat the patients with Crohn's disease by employing early use of immune-suppressing drugs combined with an antibody without using steroids.
New MS drug rituximab shows promise for multiple sclerosisA drug therapy, using rituximab, dramatically reduced the number of inflammatory lesions that form along nerve fibers in brains of multiple sclerosis patients, revealed by researchers recently.
Researchers discover a pathway to turn off immune systemUniversity of Minnesota researchers have discovered a new way to turn genes off in human T cells, a type of white blood cell that helps the immune system fight infections. Turning off genes, through a process known as mRNA decay, is important for regulating the body's immune response after fighting infection.
1000 Genomes Project to support disease studiesAn international research consortium announced the 1000 Genomes Project, an ambitious effort that will involve sequencing the genomes of at least a thousand people from around the world to create the most detailed and medically useful picture to date of human genetic variation.
Arthritis drug celecoxib can adversely affect heart rhythmCOX-2 inhibitors like Celecoxib have come under scrutiny lately due to adverse cardiovascular side-effects stemming from COX-2 reduction. In both fruit fly and rat models, researchers reveal another adverse effect of Celecoxib; this drug can induce arrhythmia. More interestingly, this effect is independent of the COX-2 enzyme.
Compstatin - new drug for vision loss, macular degenerationUniversity of Florida UF scientists are testing the safety of experimental drug Compstatin for vision loss in macular degeneration patients. In a first-of-its-kind safety research study, University of Florida researchers have injected an anti-inflammatory compound into the eye of a person with a sight-robbing disease.
Exercise improves symptoms in arthritis patientsPatients with arthritis tend to be less fit than their peers who don't have this condition. Studies have shown, however, that they can safely participate in exercise programs to increase their fitness, strength and psychosocial status and that health providers recommend that arthritis patients participate in exercise.
Test for targeted therapy in acute myeloid leukemiaAn Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute researcher has discovered that a particular hormone is responsible for driving a cancer enzyme to cause an often deadly red blood cell cancer.