Arthritis is an inflammation of a joint, usually accompanied by pain, swelling, and stiffness, and resulting from infection, trauma, degenerative changes, metabolic disturbances, or other causes. It occurs in various forms, such as bacterial arthritis, osteoarthritis, or rheumatoid arthritis.
Australia’S GPs are older, more likely to be female and write fewer prescriptions than they did a decade ago. – It’s not only the patients in GP surgeries who are getting older, according to two new reports released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the Australian General Practice Statistics and Classification Centre, an AIHW collaborating unit located at the University of Sydney.
Three genes are associated with increased risk of higher levels of uric acid in the blood, which can lead to gout. – Researchers have identified two new genes ? and confirmed the role of a third gene ? associated with increased risk of higher levels of uric acid in the blood, which can lead to gout, a common, painful form of arthritis.
New study proves that pain is not a symptom of arthritis, pain causes arthritis. New treatments will seek to interrupt ‘crosstalk’ between joints and the spinal cord. – 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.
The dietary supplements glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate no better than placebo in slowing cartilage loss in knees of osteoarthritis patients. – 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, revealed by researchers at University of Utah.
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. – Arthroscopic surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee provides no additional benefit to optimized physical and medical therapy, revealed by researchers in a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) issue of Sept. 11, 2008.
Vigorous exercise (running) at middle and older ages is associated with reduced disability in later life and a notable survival advantage. – Regular running slows the effects of aging, according to a new study from Stanford University School of Medicine that has tracked 500 older runners for more than 20 years. Elderly runners have fewer disabilities, a longer span of active life and are half as likely as aging nonrunners to die early deaths, the research found.
Elderly patients who had hip or knee replacements for severe OA took several weeks to recover but experienced excellent long-term outcomes. – Older adults who have hip or knee replacement surgery for severe osteoarthritis may take several weeks to recover but appear to have excellent long-term outcomes, according to a report in the July 14 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Heavy birthweight female babies are twice as likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis in adulthood as their average birthweight peers, suggests research published ahead of print in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.
– People 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.
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published final guidance on the use of rimonabant for the treatment of overweight and obese patients. – The UK’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published final guidance on the use of rimonabant for the treatment of overweight and obese patients.
Disparity in the use of medical or surgical interventions is an important health care issue, and this research suggests a gender bias in the treatment of patients who may need orthopedic surgery. Gender bias may affect care of people with osteoarthritis. – Physicians and surgeons recommend knee replacement surgery to men more than female patients complaining of knee pain, revealed by canadian researchers highlighting unconscious prejudices among doctors.
This international research study, published in The Lancet, has thrown into question the current method of treating Crohn’s disease ? opening the door to a safer and more effective treatment option for sufferers of the chronic disease. – A 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.
The addition of an aquatic exercise programme to the usual care for fibromyalgia in women, is cost-effective in terms of both health care costs and societal costs. – Patients suffering from fibromyalgia could benefit significantly from regular exercise in a heated swimming pool, a study published today in the open access journal Arthritis Research & Therapy shows. The findings suggest a cost effective way of improving quality of life for patients with this often-debilitating disorder.
