StemCell Therapy

Healthcare conglomerate Johnson & Johnson said on Monday the U.S. Justice Department has opened an investigation concerning management and advisory services provided to rheumatology and gastroenterology practices that bought two of its drugs.

The U.S. healthcare company said its Janssen Biotech Inc unit received a civil investigative demand from the Justice Department regarding an investigation under the False Claims Act related to its arthritis drugs Remicade and Simponi Aria.

J&J also revealed in its quarterly filing that the U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts is seeking documents broadly relating to pharmaceutical co-payment support programs for hepatitis C drug Olysiotm, Simponi and Crohn's disease drug Stelara. (bit.ly/2qUhznX)

That office's subpoena also seeks documents relating toaverage manufacturer price and best price reporting to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid services related to those products, as well as rebate payments to state Medicaid agencies, Johnson & Johnson said in the filing.

(Reporting by Akankshita Mukhopadhyay in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Trott)

WASHINGTON The U.S. economy will fall short of the Trump administration's goal of 3 percent growth this year and will only achieve that when its regulatory, tax, trade and energy policies are fully in place, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Tuesday.

News Corp reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue as the owner of the Dow Jones Newswires and the Wall Street Journal saw an uptick in its digital real estate business and growth in its advertising revenue.

A decline in subscribers and higher programming costs at cash-cow ESPN weighed on shares of Walt Disney Co on Tuesday, overshadowing a quarterly profit that topped Wall Street estimates.

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J&J discloses US probe related to arthritis drugs - Reuters

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) -- Arthritis in seniors is no joking matter. Thats why Dr. Alicia Arnold talked to Courtney Everett about things older Americans can do around the home to help ease the pain. Their question and answer can be found below and you can watch the video above to learn more.

Dr. Alicia Arnold, The most common kind of arthritis in seniors is osteoarthritis, also called degenerative joint disease. Normally we have cartilage protecting our joints by acting as a cushion in between our bones. In osteoarthritis, our cartilage breaks down, resulting in pain and swelling. Osteoarthritis is most common in people older than 65. About half of people will get knee arthritis in their lives, and about 1 in 12 seniors have hand arthritis.

Arthritis is known for being painful.

Dr. Alicia Arnold, Arthritis is known for being uncomfortable, but one of the best ways to manage osteoarthritis is by staying active. Building muscles and stay flexible can help you be more comfortable. You can find ways to adjust your movements, such as pushing open doors with your shoulder or the sides of your arms.

Lets look at a few items youve brought in that may be helpful to anyone suffering from arthritis. Wed like to say thank you to Synergy Home Care, who contributed some of the ideas for these hacks.

Drinking glassesone lightweight and bumpy for gripping, --one with rubber band around it for grip

Gardening gloves with rubber coating to help open jars.

Foam hair roller over knife handle to help improve grip.

Round key rings or bobby pins or a paper clip through zipper pulls to help gripping zippers easier

Upside down ice cube tray to hold playing cards

Coffee mugpick your coffee mug up with two hands instead of using the handle. Similarly, pick a milk or juice jug up with both hands instead of using the handle.

Toilet cleaner tabletsanything you can use for pre-cleaning, like these automatic toilet bowl cleaner tablets or daily shower cleaner will lessen the amount you have to scrub and be easier on your joints

Scissorshaving scissors around will help you avoid ripping things open like a plastic bag or packet

Talk to us about arthritis and falls.

Dr. Alicia Arnold, Elderly adults with arthritis are more likely to have a fall injury than those without arthritis. Common places to fall include the bathroom and stairs. Slippery surfaces in the bathroom cause many falls. Grab bars and nonslip mats are helpful for the bathroom and you can consider using brightly colored tape along the edges of stairs to help seniors judge the distance and depth of the steps. You can also consider adding a second railing to the other side of the stairs to give seniors something else to hold onto.

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Health Beat with Dr. Alicia Arnold: Arthritis Help - WEAU

Creaky, stiff knees are a common problem in the over-40s. Yet while they are often the first sign of underlying arthritis they are not, as is often thought, the beginning of a journey that inevitably ends in surgery or joint replacement. At least they may not be if you heed aching joints as a warning sign and are prepared to do a bit of hard work.

Most people think of osteoarthritis as a one-way wear-and-tear process related to overuse, but it is also the bodys response to injury and part of a process designed to try to repair the joint. Some people with early osteoarthritis do get progressively worse and end up needing surgery, but a similar proportion remain stable as far as symptoms are

Link:
Dr Mark Porter: Stiff knees may not be a sign of arthritis, just that you need to do some exercise - The Times (subscription)

Amanda Hay knows firsthand the value of arthritis research.

The 30-year-old Sombra woman who was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at age eight spent most of her childhood in a wheelchair until a new experimental drug became available.

After more than a decade in a wheelchair due to pain, Hay decided to take a chance on Enbrel, a biologic medicine that blocks the immune system from sending out signals that cause joint inflammation.

Within two weeks I was walking, said Hay, who had been forced to give up figure skating and other physical activities due to the pain she was experiencing.

Hay credits scientific advancements along with the support of her family and the Arthritis Society for helping her live a normal life.

More than two decades after her diagnosis, Hay works full-time and has learned to manage her debilitating pain through rest and exercise.

It's challenging, she said. I'm lucky enough that my company is supportive because I've educated them on my daily limits.

Hay hopes to raise more awareness about the chronic condition by hosting Sarnia-Lambton's first Walk to Fight Arthritis next month.

The fundraising walk with one-kilometre and five-kilometre route options is planned for June 4 at the Sombra ball park on Duke Street. Gates open at 9:30 a.m., with the walk slated to begin at 10:30 a.m.

Proceeds from the walk will benefit The Arthritis Society, a non-profit that funds research and provides local services out of Sarnia's Community Care Access Centre.

Those services include physical and occupational therapies, social work services and chronic pain management workshops.

Hay was inspired in part to host a local walk out of a desire to raise awareness about the local services provided by the Arthritis Society.

While Sarnia has never had its own Arthritis Society office, Hay said she's still been able to access services through the society, like a youth summer camp for young arthritis sufferers.

They're very willing to help anybody, she said.

More than 4.6 million Canadians aged 15 years and older currently report living with arthritis, according to The Arthritis Society. By 2036, it's estimated that one in every five Canadian adults will have arthritis.

But the debilitating joint-attacking condition can also impact the lives of children.

At age eight Hay was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis a type of inflammatory arthritis that can cause swelling and pain in the hands and wrists through to the knees and feet after she went numb on the left side of her body overnight.

Right away (the doctor) said, 'She has rheumatoid arthritis,' Hay recalled. My mom said, 'That's impossible. Kids don't have arthritis.'

But Hay's parents soon accepted the diagnosis and started working with their daughter to improve her quality of life.

I've been lucky that my parents pushed me when I was younger to do my therapy and wear my splints, said Hay, who eventually had to undergo orthopedic surgery to get staples in her growth plate.

As a child, Hay served as a local spokesperson for The Arthritis Society, but she didn't reconnect with the non-profit again until a few years ago when she started participating in London's annual Walk To Fight Arthritis.

In 2016, Hay was named the top fundraiser for the London walk, collecting $5,000 for the charity from family, friends and a few local companies.

That's when she was approached about starting a Sarnia-area walk because she and a small group of fellow arthritis sufferers were travelling from Lambton County annually to raise dollars in London.

She immediately saw the value in hosting a local Walk to Fight Arthritis an event that has connected her with other arthritis survivors and served as inspiration for her to continue her own fight with the condition.

It's made me look at my case and say, 'I'm not as bad off as others.'

To register for the walk either as a participant or a volunteer Hay can be contacted at sarniawalktofightarthritis@arthritis.ca or at 519-402-3832.

bsimpson@postmedia.com

--- --- ---

IF YOU GO

What: Walk to Fight Arthritis

When: June 4. Gates open at 9:30 a.m. Walk starts at 10:30 a.m.

Where: Sombra ball park, Duke Street

Continued here:
Arthritis sufferer hopes to raise awareness about local services - Sarnia Observer

Angus patients living with arthritis are invited to a free information session which will focus on the benefits of physical activity for those living with arthritis.

Visiting speaker, Dr Kathryn Martin from the University of Aberdeen will lead the session discussing why physical activity should be prescribed for people living with arthritis and will give tips for optimal arthritis management.

The topic has been chosen given the increasing evidence to support activity as one of the most important lifestyle interventions for both arthritis and chronic pain, with additional positive benefits to mental health and wellbeing.

Dr Martin leads a programme of research focused on physical activity, arthritis, musculoskeletal conditions and ageing.

The meeting will take place on Wednesday, June 7, from 6.30 to 8.30pm in the Lintrathen Room, Whitehills Health and Community Care Centre.

Refreshments will be available and those attending are very welcome to bring a friend or family member along with them. No booking is required.

The arthritis forum aims to provide adults living with any type of arthritis in Angus with access to ongoing and up to date information about their condition and its management as well as providing people with the chance to meet with others also living with arthritis.

The group was established to support people to live well with arthritis and, as well as providing information, the meeting offers a chance to chat with others living with arthritis over a cup of tea or coffee.

The meetings are organised by Angus Health & Social Care Partnership in partnership with the local Arthritis Forum.

For more information or to be added to the mailing list to receive advance notice about further meetings, please contact the Primary Care Team on 01307 474889 or email achppatientcourses.tayside@nhs.net.

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Arthritis forum to hear benefits of physical activity - Forfar Dispatch

Mouse stem cells could have just helped with the answer to solving chronic diseases.

The stem cells are created through gene-editing technology and are known as stem cells modified for autonomous regenerative therapy, or SMART cells. The newly-edited cells are being used to treat inflammation with a goal of pinpointing localized pain, said Farshid Guilak, senior author and professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine.

Our goal is to package the rewired stem cells as a vaccine for arthritis, which would deliver an anti-inflammatory drug to an arthritic joint but only when it is needed, Guilak said in a press release. To do this, we needed to create a smart cell.

The study authors said that genetic engineering can be used to rewire cell circuits in order to specifically change the relationships between inflammatory mediators and their antagonists. The engineering helps to provide a foundation for cell-based drug delivery that speeds up the rate at which a vaccine can start working.

We want to use our gene-editing technology as a way to deliver targeted therapy in response to localized inflammation in a joint, as opposed to current drug therapies that can interfere with the inflammatory response through the entire body, Guilak said. If this strategy proves to be successful, the engineered cells only would block inflammation when inflammatory signals are released, such as during an arthritic flare in that joint.

Related:Scientists Grow Beating Heart Cells on Spinach Leaves

Mouse cells were grown and used in the study to test the gene-editing technology. The researchers were able to replace an inflammation mediator with a drug that suppresses the bodys response to inflammation response, known as a TNF-alpha inhibitor, using CRISPR technology.

Exploiting tools from synthetic biology, we found we could re-code the program that stem cells use to orchestrate their response to inflammation, said Jonathan Brunger, the studys first author and a postdoctoral fellow in Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at the University of California, San Francisco. We hijacked an inflammatory pathway to create cells that produced a protective drug.

The team also coded cells that lit up when responding to inflammation, so they could determine which cells needed attention. The stem cells have the potential to help with several different health issues, Guilak said.

When these cells see TNF-alpha, they rapidly activate a therapy that reduces inflammation, Guilak said. We believe this strategy also may work for other systems that depend on a feedback loop. In diabetes, for example, its possible we could make stem cells that would sense glucose and turn on insulin in response. We are using pluripotent stem cells, so we can make them into any cell type, and with CRISPR, we can remove or insert genes that have the potential to treat many types of disorders.

The autoregulation that the stem cells can provide has the possibility to help treat diseases early, before symptoms become serious health issues, the study said. The possibilities are exciting, Brunger added.

The ability to build living tissues from smart stem cells that precisely respond to their environment opens up exciting possibilities for investigation in regenerative medicine, Brunger said.

Related:Dairy-Free Diets Could Harm Young Peoples Bone Health

Tori Linville is a freelance writer and editor from Clarksville, Tennessee. When she isnt writing or teaching, shes faithfully watching her alma mater, the University of Alabama, dominate the football field.

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Arthritis Vaccine Could Emerge From Stem Cell Technology - Vital Updates

BISMARCK, N.D. - More than 100 people filled Legacy High School for the annual 'Walk to Cure Arthritis' event. People, and dogs, rallied together to raise funds to conquer arthritis once and for all.

Volunteers and participants joined the fight to help cure the joint disease, whether it's a personal experience with arthritis or not.

"We walk and volunteer for everyone that hurts. Weather it's the grandma that's just got old age Osteoarthritis, or kids who are born with a disease they don't deserve," says Andrea Pansegrau, participant.

Pansegraus daughter was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis when she was an eighth grader. She says walking means a lot not only to her, but also her daughter.

"We're trying to raise hope. Because when you get this diagnosis it's devastating because as a parent, your mind just jumps to all the things they're not going to be able to do, all the experiences they may not be able to have, the things they're losing. Eventually you get a little hope, and things change," says Pansegrau.

The event hopes to spread awareness and to spread the champion of yes for the Arthritis community.

"It's really fun, because you can see the smiles and see that anything is possible. even with having a diagnosis of Arthritis that you can still do what you love," says Development Manager Britt Ingersoll.

The walk had family, fun games such as Twister and inflatables for kids to enjoy while parents walk for the cause.

The money raised during the event goes back to the Arthritis Foundation to bring programs back into North Dakota.

http://www.arthritis.org/north-dakota/

Continued here:
Annual Walk to Cure Arthritis event raises awareness in the community - KFYR-TV

Characterized by painful inflammation and stiffness of the joints, arthritis is an affliction that ails many. As weight-bearing joints, the knees are particularly prone to the most common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis. In an effort to find relief, some may consider surgery and medication. For others, corticosteroid injections in the knee have become an effective means to combat their osteoarthritis.

To find out more about these knee injections and their effectiveness, Take Care spoke with Dr. Robert Shmerling, associate physician and clinical chief of rheumatology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Osteoarthritis, Shmerling explains, is highly associated with aging and the degeneration of cartilage lining the joints. This cartilage, along with naturally occurring hyaluronic acid, is what allows joints to move smoothly through their range of motion. Osteoarthritis can occur in any joint, but due to the stress we put on our knees throughout our lifetime, as well as the genetic inheritance factor, knee joints are frequently those affected.

Through an analysis of the patients history, their symptoms, a physical examination, and regular x-rays, doctors can confirm an arthritis diagnosis. Once the diagnosis has been verified, there are a few options to consider moving forward.

The first step, says Shmerling, is typically to offer pain relievers or mild anti-inflammatory medications like acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Osteoarthritis is less of an inflammatory issue than rheumatoid arthritis, for example, but the anti-inflammatory properties of medicines like Tylenol or Advil can still offer some relief.

Monitored exercise is also an option, as is physical therapy, and additionally, the application of heat or cold to the affected area can help as well, Shmerling says. And if none of those are effective? That is when injections are considered. They are not the first line of defense, explains Shmerling, and are typically reserved for those who havent found relief with the aforementioned options.

To combat the inflammation, the medication itself is a corticosteroid, which acts as a powerful anti-inflammatory when injected in the affected knee. Unlike other treatment options, says Shmerling, injections can provide fast relief, especially when the corticosteroid is combined with Novocain. The Novocain provides fast temporary relief, while the effects of the corticosteroid can be distinguished within 24 to 48 hours, he says.

And post-injection, the duration of benefit is variable from patient to patient. Relief can last from weeks to months. In fact, Shmerling recalls, he has seen patients who didnt need another injection for up to a year. However, in osteoarthritis of the knees, the duration of injections is typically in the order of weeks or months.

Its important to remember that injections arent a cure, Shmerling notes, and are only meant to provide temporary relief. The rule of thumb for frequency is typically three to four per year. In fact, having too many injections is not wise due to the risk of infection in the injection site, as well as the possibility of damaging structures within the knee from exposure to the cortisone. This combination of risks means limiting injection frequency, although no one knows what the ideal interval is, Shmerling says.

Another injection option involves a synthetic hyaluronic acid. In osteoarthritis, the thickness of the naturally occurring hyaluronic acid in the joint becomes less lubricative, so through injection of a synthetic form, the joint gets some of that lubrication back, as well as some mild anti-inflammatory effects.

And if none of these methods work, the final option is surgery, Shmerling says. This decision is based on a host of factors, including the patients pain and quality of life, joint function, and x-ray analysis. There isnt always a distinct moment when surgery becomes a must, he explains, so it often has to do with the effectiveness of previous treatment methods like injections, as well as how the individual is coping with their arthritis.

And like so many medical treatments, the responses to injections are varied. In fact, Shmerling adds, the overall effectiveness has been brought into question in numerous studies, with no clear conclusion on how long they can delay an inevitable surgery. But Shmerling says injections are worth a try for patients who are considering surgery but may not be an ideal candidate. While they arent a cure for arthritis, for those seeking relief, knee injections are a worthwhile option to consider to ease the effects of osteoarthritis.

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Combating arthritis: The word on knee injections - WRVO Public Media

Home Anti-Aging Arthritis Arthritis Awareness Month: Arthritis symptoms, arthritis mutilans, infectious arthritis, psoriatic arthritis

It is Arthritis Awareness Month, and we at Bel Marra know how it can be living with arthritis pain. Having joint pain can affect people of any age, but when its something that has to be dealt with on a daily basis, it can be extremely debilitating. So, in order to assist those suffering from the condition, we have compiled a list of articles we think will help with arthritis symptoms. You will find articles on the topics of not well-known types of arthritis such as infectious arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, septic arthritis, and arthritis mutilans.

Having arthritis pain can be quite a nuisance. It hampers our day, making the most mundane things difficult and subjecting us to unnecessary agony. But the pain associated with arthritis isnt the only symptom people have to endure.

In a lot of cases, people notice other things showing up before they ever have pain, says Kevin Shea, an orthopedic surgeon at St. Lukes Health System in Boise.

While arthritis may be seen as one entity, there are actually hundreds of different types, and each person diagnosed with the condition may present with an entirely different constellation of symptoms from the next, making each case unique.

Being aware of the symptoms arthritis sufferers may present allows you and your doctor to possibly slow down its progression. Early detection can allow for the use of anti-inflammatory medication or certain lifestyle changes to help preserve normal functioning. The following are a list of non-pain-related symptoms that are associated with arthritis to keep a look out for. Continue reading

Arthritis is a common term used to describe disorders that affect the joints, but we dont often hear about arthritis mutilans (AM). It is a severe but rare form of arthritis that attacks bone and cartilage in the joints.

People who suffer from arthritis mutilans usually face deformation in the joints of the hands and feet. The condition gets its name from its mutilating potential. It is a type of psoriatic arthritis that destroys the joints and can lead to the shortening of affected fingers and toes. Less than five percent of people who suffer from psoriatic arthritis (PsA) develop arthritis mutilans, but it is often confused with rheumatoid arthritis since RA can also cause joint deformity. Some doctors refer to arthritis mutilans as chronic absorptive arthritis because it causes bone resorption. Continue reading

Living with persistent pain, such as arthritis pain, is always a challenge. You can manage occasional episodes of pain with quick go-to remedies like over-the-counter painkillers, but if the pain is chronicmeaning, its here to stayyoull need a long-term solution to continue functioning (and to do so in a safe manner) and still enjoy your life. In other words, you need to learn how to deal with pain day in and day out and adjust your lifestyle to include this new value into the equation.

You may not like this idea, but in order to effectively transition into this new way of living, youll need to accept your pain as a family member. When you start living with someone, conflicts are unavoidable, but the longer you two co-exist under one roof, the more you become accustomed to each other and the better you get along. True, your relationship with pain is one-sided, but thinking of things this way should help you prepare for effectively handling pain in the long term without compromising your regular lifestyle. Continue reading

Infectious arthritis is an infection in a joint, and it may also be referred to as septic arthritis. It typically occurs due to an infection caused by bacteria or a virus that spreads to a joint or the fluid surrounding itthe synovial fluid. Infections usually begin in another area of the body and spread through the bloodstream to the joint, causing it to become infected. Other routes of infection include surgery contamination, open wounds, or injections. These types of infections usually only affect one joint at a time, with larger joints such as the knee, hip, or shoulder seeing the most cases. Infectious arthritis can occur in people of all ages, and especially in those who use intravenous drugs. Here you will learn how to get infectious arthritis, how long it lasts, and septic arthritis criteria for diagnosis. Continue reading

You may have heard of psoriasisa condition that features red patches of skin with silvery scales. You may have also heard of arthritis, the joint pain disorder. What most people dont know is that these two conditions can actually present together in an entirely separate condition.

Psoriatic arthritis (PA) is a chronic autoimmune condition resulting in increased inflammation of the body that gets worse over time, but those affected may have symptom-free periods on occasion. The symptoms of PA often resemble that of rheumatoid arthritis, as both diseases cause the joints to become painful, swollen, and warm to the touch. However, PA is more likely to cause swollen fingers and toes, foot pain, and lower back pain, and of course, it also presents with the typical skin abnormalities seen in psoriasis patients. Individuals with PA may also have an increased risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. This joint pain can lead to significant joint damage over time, so it is advised to see your doctor for treatment. Medications used for PA can carry many side effects, but luckily. the food you eat can be a big help in reducing symptoms and even decreasing risk factors associated with excessive inflammation. Continue reading

Related Reading:

Polyarthritis: Causes, symptoms, and treatment

Palindromic rheumatism (a cause of rheumatoid arthritis): Causes, symptoms, and treatment

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Arthritis Awareness Month: Arthritis symptoms, arthritis mutilans, infectious arthritis, psoriatic arthritis - Bel Marra Health

By Amy Norton

HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, May 5, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Knees that "pop," "click" or "crackle" may sometimes be headed toward arthritis in the near future, a new study suggests.

It's common for the knees to get a little noisy on occasion, and hearing a "crack" during your yoga class is probably not something to worry about, experts say.

But in the new study, middle-aged and older adults who said their knees often crackled were more likely to develop arthritis symptoms in the next year.

Of those who complained their knees were "always" noisy, 11 percent developed knee arthritis symptoms within a year. That compared with 4.5 percent of people who said their knees "never" popped or cracked.

Everyone else fell into the middle. Of people who said their knees "sometimes" or "often" made noise, roughly 8 percent developed knee arthritis symptoms in the next year.

Doctors have a term for those joint noises: crepitus.

Patients commonly complain of it, said Dr. Grace Lo, the lead researcher on the study. She's an assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

But until now, it hasn't been clear whether crepitus can predict symptomatic knee arthritis. That means people not only have evidence of cartilage breakdown on X-rays, but also suffer symptoms from it -- namely, frequent pain and stiffness.

"Our study suggests crepitus is not completely benign," Lo said. "It's a sign that something is going on in the knee joint."

Dr. Joseph Bosco, an orthopedic surgeon who wasn't involved in the study, agreed that frequent crepitus should be checked out.

"A lot of people's knees 'snap' and 'pop,'" said Bosco, a professor at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City. "Do they need to run out for knee replacements? No."

But, he added, "if you experience crepitus regularly, get an evaluation."

The findings, published May 4 in the journal Arthritis Care & Research, come with some caveats.

The nearly 3,500 study participants were at increased risk of developing knee arthritis symptoms to begin with, Lo explained.

The participants ranged in age from 45 to 79. Some were at risk of knee arthritis simply because of old age, while others had risk factors such as obesity or a history of a significant knee injury.

So it's not clear, Lo said, whether the findings would translate to -- for example -- a 35-year-old whose knees crack when she runs.

Plus, even though the study participants were initially free of knee arthritis symptoms, some did have signs of arthritis damage on an X-ray.

And it was in that group where crepitus was a red flag: People who "often" or "always" had noisy knees were nearly three times more likely to develop knee arthritis symptoms as those who "never" had crepitus.

According to Lo, the findings could be useful in everyday medical practice. "If patients are complaining of frequent cracking or popping in the knees," she said, "get an X-ray."

If that turns up signs of arthritic damage, Lo said, then the risk of progressing to symptoms in the near future is probably significant.

Unfortunately, there is no magic pill that can stop arthritis in progress. But, Lo said, for patients who are heavy, weight loss can help.

Some, she added, might benefit from strengthening the muscles that support the knees.

WebMD News from HealthDay

SOURCES: Grace Lo, M.D., assistant professor, medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston; Joseph Bosco, M.D., professor, orthopedic surgery, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York City; May 4, 2017, Arthritis Care & Research

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Knee 'Crackle' Might Mean Arthritis is Coming - WebMD

Study: 4 in 10 people will have hand arthritis in lifetime Wichita Eagle Hand arthritis is more common than you might think. Nearly one in two women and one in four men will develop the condition in their lifetime, according to a new study. The risk of symptomatic hand osteoarthritis also varies by race and weight. Aching ... Symptomatic Hand Osteoarthritis Will Affect 40 Percent of PeopleDoctors Lounge all 2 news articles »

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Study: 4 in 10 people will have hand arthritis in lifetime - Wichita Eagle

Many study findings about rheumatoid arthritis (RA) sound negative, but patients with the disease are now getting some encouraging news.

A study published last month on the progress and advancements in RA treatment and management revealed that for the first time in years the mortality rate among people with RA has decreased.

Researchers also noted that people with the disease experience much less disability than in decades past.

Read more: Green tea may help ease rheumatoid arthritis treatments

Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that RA was listed as the underlying cause of death in 8,428 cases in 2011.

That was a decrease from 9,281 deaths in 1987.

The age-standardized mortality rate of RA declined by 3 percent annually from 1987 to 2011.

But people with RA still have a higher mortality rate than the general population.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes thatearly treatment within six months of diagnosis is ideal to help curb aggressive disease activity or early deaths from RA.

Read more: Stem cell therapy a possible treatment for rheumatoid arthritis

Researchers are now trying to ascertain which specific approaches have helped bring down the RA mortality rate.

In general, it seems that the long-term outlook for people with RA is improving but only with early treatment. This was evidenced in a study following a group of people with RA for 20 years.

Early treatment means getting the right diagnosis and catching the RA early in the progression of the disease.

There are some mixed opinions within the rheumatology community about what the first line of defense is in RA treatment, but the general consensus is that a more aggressive approach in the earlier stages is best.

People with lower disease activity tended to fare better long term.

But, overall, while people with RA reported a lower disease activity early on, disability rates did tend to rise in people with RA seven years after diagnosis.

The disability reported was moderate but still better than compared with previous decades.

A press release about these discoveries noted that patients who received treatment within the first six months had a lower risk of death than those who did not receive treatment, after controlling for disease severity.

This research emphasizes the importance of early treatment and the long-term benefits of early treatment, said Suzanne Verstappen, PhD, a senior research fellow at the University of Manchester, and a lead researcher on these study, said in a press statement. In the early 1990s, when this study started, only 30 percent of patients received early treatment, but this number has increased significantly in the last decade. It's expected that in the next 10 years, newly diagnosed patients will have a better future with respect to functional ability, less severe disease activity, and improved quality of life.

Read more: Why rheumatoid arthritis is plaguing 9/11 first responders

In the past, there was a higher RA mortality rate due to complications such as lung and heart issues associated with severe RA disease activity.

Other people succumbed to fatal infections from RA medications, or other unique complications associated with RA and its comorbidities.

The higher survival rate is welcome news for people with RA, but there are issues related to living longer with the disease.

Although increased survival with rheumatoid arthritis is great news, it might lead to a greater share of our aging population having the disease and in need of health services. This needs to be accounted for in healthcare planning, said study lead author Aliasghar Kiadaliri, PhD, of Lund University in Sweden, in a statement to the press.

People with RA, though, still look at this news as a positive thing.

With so much bad news regarding the healthcare bill and funding for NIH research being cut and just the difficulties of RA in general, it is nice to get good news for once. I would love to live a longer and healthier life even with having a serious illness like RA, said Jacqueline Dickson of North Carolina.

I am only 23 and was just recently diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, added Michelle Herbert of Nevada. I wondered if it would affect my life expectancy, and told my doctor that Id try whatever she suggested to make sure my disease didnt progress too badly. Its good to know that aggressive treatment early in the disease is seen as a positive, but I just hope my doctors caught it in time because I had so many years of pain.

Perhaps Brad Smith of New York, a young man with RA, is the one to sum it up best.

Ill takeanygood news when it comes to RA, he said.

Continue reading here:
Rheumatoid Arthritis Deaths Have Decreased - Healthline

Reactive arthritis can cause painful joint swelling and in most cases it clears up completely within months..

The condition - whihc is different to osteoarthritis and rheuamtoid arthritis - most commonly develops after infections of the bowel or genital tract.

Arthritis Research UK said: Unlike septic arthritis, reactive arthritis isnt caused by an active infection within your joints.

With reactive arthritis the inflammation in your joints is a reaction to an infection elsewhere in your body. Reactive arthritis is diagnosed if you suddenly develop arthritis, especially in your knees or ankles, just after suffering an infection.

GETTY

Sometimes the infection may have been so mild that you didn't notice it.

The charity said the first signs of the condition can be pain and swelling, usually in the joints in the legs - knees ankles or toes.

It said the swelling may happen suddenly or develop over a few days after the affected joint becomes stiff.

Other joints including the fingers, wrists, elbows and the joints at the base of your spine (sacroiliac joints) can also become inflamed.

Getty

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GETTY

ith reactive arthritis the inflammation in your joints is a reaction to an infection elsewhere in your body

Reactive arthritis can also cause inflammation of the tendons around the joints, such as the Achilles tendon at the back of the ankle.

Joint pain and swelling are often the only symptoms of reactive arthritis. But other possible symptoms include:

inflamed, red eyes (conjunctivitis) scaly rashes over your hands or feet (known as keratoderma blenorrhagica) diarrhoea, which may start some time before the arthritis mouth ulcers inflammation of the genital tract which produces a discharge from your vagina or penis a sore rash over the end of the penis weight loss and fever.

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The charity said reactive arthritis can affect people of all ages, including children.

It generally affects a younger average age group than rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis.

Although there isnt a family tendency to develop reactive arthritis, if you have a particular gene, HLA-B27, you may be more likely to develop the condition.

This gene is carried by about one in 14 - seven per cent - of the general population.

The charity said: Having the HLA-B27 gene could also make you more likely to have further episodes of reactive arthritis in the future.

To find out more visit Arthritis Research UK

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Arthritis symptoms - THIS condition could be triggered by bowel infection and last months - Express.co.uk

She's only a second grader at Cordill-Mason Elementary School in Blue Springs, but 8-year-old Maggie Miller knows what it's like to attend class with every joint on her fingers, wrists and elbows hurting from juvenile idiopathic arthritis, a disease with no cure yet.

What's happening to Maggie is this: Her immune system sees healthy cells as bad, and her immune system attacks the healthy cells in her body, explains Maggie's mom, Tammy Miller. So her immune system is attacking all her joints.

That's the bad news. The good news is: We have been able to stop the spread of (the disease), she says, recalling the disease spread quickly after Maggie was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis in October 2015. We have been able to slow down the progression of the disease with a lot of medicine that she takes weekly, and every four weeks we go into the hospital and do an IV infusion treatment . ... and we do an injection of chemo every weekend to kind of suppress the immune system from attacking her body.

How is Maggie coping with her affliction?

Maggie is the strongest, bravest child I know. She deals with more than any 8-year-old should ever have to deal with. She has to deal with a lot of medicines, doctor appointments and physical therapy, occupational therapy and pool therapy, Tammy says, recalling Maggie had two appointments this week and missed a lot of schooling and doing fun things with her friends.

However, the fun Maggie missed doing with her friends, she more than made up when the Dream Factory of Kansas City sent the Miller family, including her father, Duane, and her 11-year-old brother, Joel, to Orlando, Florida. There they spent March 11 to 17 visiting Disney World, Universal Studios and Sea World.

Then, there was the 80-acre Give Kids the World Village where Dream Factory and Make-A-Wish Foundation families stayed while in Orlando. There were tons of fun things to do, Tammy says, recalling the Village each night staged an elaborate party or celebration like Halloween, with a visit from the Storm Troopers and other characters. Then there was Christmas in March, complete with Santa, snow, sleigh rides and much more.

Wearing Mickey Mouse ears to an interview earlier this week was soft-spoken Maggie who fielded a few questions. Her favorite park ride was scary Splash Mountain. Cinderella's evil stepsisters were her favorite meet-and-greet characters, because they were ugly and stayed in character and acted evil. And the ride she hated most: The Tower of Terror, which made her scream.

How did the trip of a lifetime affect Maggie, who says she would like to go to Los Angeles someday and see her two favorite TV personalities, Ellen Degeneres and Steve Harvey.

It was really nice to go on this trip and get away from hospitals, doctors, therapy and just be a family and just have fun and let (Maggie) be a kid and do kid things for a while, she says, noting: We went to seven parks in that short time.

On Saturday, May 6, Maggie and her team of walkers will be helping The Arthritis Foundation, which Tammy says has been an amazing support system for her family. For the second consecutive year, Maggie's team of fundraisers are participating in the annual Walk to Cure Arthritis, a community fundraising 5K walk. The event begins at 9 a.m. in the dinosaur section of Worlds of Fun before the park opens.

What's ahead for Maggie?

Says Tammy: We are going to continue our treatment. Our goal is hopefully to get (the disease) to go into remission so that we can go into a medication remission and there be no signs of the disease. Then hopefully, we can start weaning off some of those medicines and stay in remission.

What has already begun as a fun-filled year for Maggie will continue next month when Maggie spends June 5 to 8 at The Arthritis Foundation's Camp Joint Adventure at Lawson, Missouri. She will be attending camp (where memories are made) on a scholarship. One of her memories, no doubt, will be swimming, because that's her favorite pastime and doesn't put much pressure on her joints.

(Maggie) is looking forward to participating in the 5K walk and going to camp this summer in order to be with other kids who understand her disease, Tammy says. ...She has a real strong support group of friends, and has told her class what her disease is, how it affects her and why she is away from school sometimes because of appointments. She has to miss all day on infusion treatment day. Then she is worn out afterwards.

Will Maggie's condition worsen?

With the advancement in medication treatment, we hope we have been able to catch it in time, get on the right medicine in a timely fashion and that we have the disease under control, Tammy says, explaining, There is always that chance medicines will stop working, and we pray that won't happen. But if it does, we will regroup, find a new treatment and try it. ...It's all about trying to find the right combinations of medicine. We are very lucky we were able to slow down the disease before it got to any other joints.

-- Retired community news reporter Frank Haight Jr. writes this column for The Examiner. You can leave a message for him at 816-350-6363.

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Frank Haight: Second-grader bravely fighting painful arthritis - Columbia Daily Tribune

This month, America observes Arthritis Awareness Month a month dedicated to sharing experiences and letting others see and hear about the disease and its impacts. To join in the discussion, Home Instead Senior Care the world's leading provider of in-home care services for seniors is offering tips to family caregivers of those living with the disease.

OMAHA, Neb. (PRWEB) May 05, 2017

Arthritis is the No. 1 cause of disability in the United States, affecting more than 50 million Americans, according to the Arthritis Foundation. Those with this chronic disease experience painful inflammation and stiffness, making it difficult to accomplish daily tasks, which can lead to anxiety or a diminished positive self-image.

This month, America observes Arthritis Awareness Month a month dedicated to sharing experiences and letting others see and hear about the disease and its impacts. To join in the discussion, Home Instead Senior Care the world's leading provider of in-home care services for seniors is offering tips to family caregivers of those living with the disease.

"Without proper care and treatment, an individual becomes more and more likely to have their life severely impacted by the effects of arthritis," said Lakelyn Hogan, caregiver advocate at Home Instead. "We are offering these tips to help family caregivers better understand the needs of their loved one with this disease. Arthritis is the No. 1 chronic condition that brings us into a senior's home and we wanted to share our advice, curated from twenty years of caring for seniors with arthritis."

Keep the following seven tips in mind when assisting loved ones living with arthritis:

Home Instead CAREGivers deliver responsive and customized in-home care to each client's specific needs. Home Instead offers everything from arthritis help to advanced Alzheimer's careto keep them safe at home.

A Caregiver's Guide to Arthritis provides additional tips on how to help a loved one with arthritis. Download the guide at http://www.caregiverstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/A-Caregivers-Guide-to-Arthritis_web.pdf. For more information on Arthritis Awareness Month events and resources, visit http://blog.arthritis.org/news/arthritis-awareness-month/.

# # #

ABOUT HOME INSTEAD SENIOR CARE Founded in 1994 in Omaha, Nebraska, by Lori and Paul Hogan, the Home Instead Senior Care network provides personalized care, support and education to help enhance the lives of aging adults and their families. Today this network is the world's leading provider of in-home care services for seniors, with more than 1,000 independently owned and operated franchises that are estimated to annually provide more than 50 million hours of care throughout the United States and 12 other countries. Local Home Instead Senior Care offices employ approximately 65,000 CAREGiversSM worldwide who provide basic support services that enable seniors to live safely and comfortably in their own homes for as long as possible. The Home Instead Senior Care network strives to partner with each client and his or her family members to help meet that individual's needs. Services span the care continuum from providing companionship and personal care to specialized Alzheimer's care and hospice support. Also available are family caregiver education and support resources. At Home Instead Senior Care, it's relationship before task, while striving to provide superior quality service.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/05/prweb14304019.htm

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National Arthritis Awareness Month: Family Caregivers Key to ... - Benzinga

News & Observer

Cary teen doesn't let arthritis hold her back News & Observer If Maia Tsalik is supposed to make you feel sorry for her, she is not doing a very good job. As one of the ambassadors for the upcoming Walk for the Cure, the 13-year-old Cary resident is charged with helping to raise awareness about arthritis. Maia ...

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Cary teen doesn't let arthritis hold her back - News & Observer

WEDNESDAY, May 3, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- A new study finds that people with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis who haven't done well on other treatments may find relief with Xeljanz (tofacitinib), a drug currently used to treat arthritis.

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease. It affects about 700,000 Americans, according to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation (CCF).

The illness causes inflammation, irritation, swelling and sores on the lining of the large intestine. Symptoms include diarrhea with blood or pus and abdominal discomfort, according to CCF.

"There is still a substantial unmet need for new treatments for patients with ulcerative colitis," said study lead author Dr. William Sandborn. He is professor of medicine and chief of the division of gastroenterology at the University of California, San Diego.

Xeljanz targets certain proteins involved in the body's inflammatory and immune responses that other so-called biologic drugs don't, the researchers said.

"Treatment with oral tofacitinib is potentially a new treatment option for patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, pending review by the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration]," Sandborn said.

The study was funded by Pfizer, Inc., the maker of Xeljanz. Sandborn said he has received research grants from the company and served as a consultant for Pfizer.

Whether Xeljanz should be used as a first treatment is still not clear, said Dr. Arun Swaminath, director of the inflammatory bowel disease program at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

Because Xeljanz comes as a pill, it could have an advantage for patients, Swaminath said. But so far it has only been tried with patients who have not responded to other treatments, he said.

"How it is used in the real world may be different than how it was used in these studies," Swaminath said. "I am not going out on a limb and say this should be the first choice, because we don't have enough data to say that's the way it should be positioned."

The researchers randomly assigned more than 1,700 people with ulcerative colitis to one of three phase 3 trials.

The first two trials looked at more than 1,100 patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis who had failed with conventional treatment or treatment with newer "tumor necrosis factor antagonist" drugs, such as Remicade (infliximab). They received Xeljanz or a placebo twice a day for eight weeks.

In the third trial, nearly 600 patients who responded to Xeljanz were assigned to a maintenance dose (one group with 5 milligrams [mg] and another group with 10 mg) of the drug, or placebo for a year.

In the first trial, nearly 19 percent of the patients taking Xeljanz experienced a remission of their condition in eight weeks. That compared to just 8 percent of patients receiving placebo.

In the second trial, almost 17 percent of those taking Xeljanz had a remission, compared with nearly 4 percent of those taking placebo, the researchers found.

In the third trial, more than 34 percent of patients taking 5 mg of Xeljanz had disease remission after one year. Forty percent of those taking a 10-mg dose of the drug had remission at a year. Only 11 percent of patients on placebo saw a remission.

However, in all of the trials, more patients taking Xeljanz suffered from infections, such as shingles, than those receiving placebo, researchers found.

In addition, five patients taking Xeljanz developed nonmelanoma skin cancer, compared with one patient receiving placebo. Five patients taking the drug experienced heart problems compared with no one on the placebo.

Also, compared with placebo, Xeljanz was associated with an increase in levels of cholesterol.

The report was published May 4 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Dr. Sonia Friedman is an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. She's also the author of an editorial accompanying the study.

"Tofacitinib is a promising new class of medical therapy that has efficacy in ulcerative colitis. It is an oral, small-molecule drug that is different from current biologic therapies, such as infliximab [Remicade], adalimumab [Humira], golimumab [Simponi] and vedolizumab [Entyvio]," Friedman said.

An advantage of Xeljanz is that it is a pill. Other biologic drugs are given by infusion or injection. In addition, patients cannot develop antibodies to Xeljanz as they can with other biologic drugs, Friedman said.

"Tofacitinib may be used in the future as rescue therapy from failure of biologics," she said. "Only future studies will determine whether it can be used as initial therapy for ulcerative colitis and what patients it would help the most."

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Arthritis Drug Shows Promise for Ulcerative Colitis - Lincoln Journal Star

By Staff.

Researchers are editing stem cells in an effort to fight arthritis with the goal of possibly creating a vaccine that targets inflammation in joints.

Theyve been successful in rewiring mouse stem cells to fight inflammation caused by arthritis and other chronic conditions. These stem cells, known as SMART (Stem cells Modified for Autonomous Regenerative Therapy), develop into cartilage cells that produce anti-inflammatory drug that may replace arthritic cartilage and protect joints from additional damage.

Our goal is to package the rewired stem cells as a vaccine for arthritis, which would deliver an anti-inflammatory drug to an arthritic joint but only when it is needed, said Farshid Guilak, PhD, the papers senior author and a professor of orthopedic surgery at Washington University School of Medicine. To do this, we needed to create a smart cell.

Many current drugs used to treat arthritis like Enbrel, Humira and Remicade, attack an inflammation-promoting molecule called tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). These drugs are given systemically rather than targeted to joints, which can lead to various unwanted side effects.

We want to use our gene-editing technology as a way to deliver targeted therapy in response to localized inflammation in a joint, as opposed to current drug therapies that can interfere with the inflammatory response through the entire body, Guilak added. If this strategy proves to be successful, the engineered cells only would block inflammation when inflammatory signals are released, such as during an arthritic flare in that joint.

The researchers also encoded the stem/cartilage cells with genes that made the cells light up when responding to inflammation, so the scientists could tell when the cells were responding. Recently, Guilaks team has begun testing the engineered stem cells in mouse models of rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.

If the work can be replicated in animals and then developed into a clinical therapy, the engineered cells or cartilage grown from stem cells would respond to inflammation by releasing a biologic drug the TNF-alpha inhibitor that would protect the synthetic cartilage cells that Guilaks team created and the natural cartilage cells in specific joints.

When these cells see TNF-alpha, they rapidly activate a therapy that reduces inflammation, Guilak explained. We believe this strategy also may work for other systems that depend on a feedback loop. In diabetes, for example, its possible we could make stem cells that would sense glucose and turn on insulin in response. We are using pluripotent stem cells, so we can make them into any cell type we can remove or insert genes that have the potential to treat many types of disorders.

The ability to build living tissues from smart stem cells that precisely respond to their environment opens up exciting possibilities for investigation in regenerative medicine, said Jonathan Brunger, PhD, the papers first author and a postdoctoral fellow in cellular and molecular pharmacology at the University of California, San Francisco.

The research was published in the journalStem Cell Reports.

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Can An Arthritis Vaccine Be In Our Future? - National Pain Report

Rheumatoid arthritis is a long-term condition that causes pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints and mainly affects the hands feet and wrists.

People suffering with rheumatoid arthritis often experience periods where the symptoms are worse.

These can be difficult to predict but there is treatment available which can ease pain and prevent long-term damage to the joints.

Some people with rheumatoid arthritis also experience problems in other parts of the body, or more general symptoms such as tiredness and weight loss.

New research led by Sarah Skeoch and Professor Ian Bruce at the Arthritis Research UK Centre for Epidemiology at the University of Manchester, looked at the link between chronic inflammation and increased cardiovascular risk.

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The research used advanced imaging techniques to highlight the greater risk of cardiovascular problems among people with rheumatoid arthritis.

Published in the medical journal Scientific Reports, the researchers aimed to provide evidence that chronic inflammation drives increased cardiovascular risk in patients by accelerating atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis is a condition characterised by the buildup of fatty substances called plaques in the arteries - while also leading to the development of higher-risk plaque types.

Researchers found plaque was more prevalent in people with rheumatoid arthritis, with a higher prevalence of plaque calcification also found.

They found higher levels of the biomarkers hs-CRP and IL6 can be linked to greater inflammation.

WHAT IS RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS?

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Rheumatoid arthritis is an incredibly debilitating condition that affects more than 400,000 people within the UK.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition, which means it is caused by the immune system attacking healthy body tissue - such as the lining go the joints.

It causes joints to become sore and inflamed and damages bones, cartilage, tendons and ligaments.

If the condition isn't treated, these chemicals gradually cause the joint to lose its shape and alignment.

Experts said the results could reveal that a combination of IL6 and hs-CRP represent a significant driver of cardiovascular risk.

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The researchers concluded: "This study confirms increased prevalence of atherosclerosis in rheumatoid arthritis and provides data to support the hypothesis that patients have a high-risk plaque phenotype."

Dr Natalie Carter, head of research liaison and evaluation at Arthritis Research UK, said: "Rheumatoid arthritis is an incredibly debilitating condition that affects more than 400,000 people within the UK.

The condition can not only limit a person's ability to live their everyday life to the full, but it can also put them at higher risk of cardiovascular disease.

"This study not only reinforces the link between rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular disease, but the results can also help us understand what causes atherosclerosis in both patients with rheumatoid arthritis and the general public."

Atherosclerosis occurs when fatty material called atheroma builds up in the lining of your artery walls and narrows your arteries.

Over time it can grow bigger until your arteries become so narrow that they cant let enough blood through.

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Rheumatoid arthritis could be linked to heart condition ... - Express.co.uk

UNC student dispels stereotype, seeks arthritis cure News & Observer Barber has had arthritis since she was 13. She is one of two Triangle residents chosen by the Triangle/Coastal Office of the Arthritis Foundation to be the face of arthritis and to help spread the word about the Triangle Walk to Cure Arthritis on ...

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UNC student dispels stereotype, seeks arthritis cure - News & Observer