News Related to Rheumatoid Arthritis

1. Antsy Rheumatoid Arthritis Antidote?
   

   April 24, 2008 -- Will rheumatoid arthritis and hepatitis meet their match in a certain type of Chinese ant? The Chinese ant Polyrhacis lamellidens has painkilling and anti-inflammatory properties and is used in Chinese folk medicine to treat rheumatoid arthritis and hepatitis, Chinese and Japanese

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2. FDA OKs Orencia for Juvenile Arthritis
   

   April 10, 2008 -- Children ages 6 and older living with a moderate to severe form of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) have a new treatment option. The FDA approved the drug Orencia for pediatric patients after a large study showed that those who received the medication had significantly fewer sym

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3. RA Heart Tip: Try Gluten-Free Vegan Diet
   

   March 21, 2008 -- "Gluten-free" vegan diets aren't just for health-food nuts. New research from Sweden shows that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who skip both animal products and certain grains could reduce their risk of having a heart attack or stroke. RA is a chronic inflammatory disease that

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4. New Twist on Prednisone for RA
   

   Jan. 17, 2008 -- Rheumatoid arthritis researchers have created a new steroid pill that works overnight to ease morning joint stiffness. Rheumatoid arthritis patients take the pill at night. The pill releases its prednisone four hours later, in time to curb morning joint stiffness. The new prednisone

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5. Treating RA: Single Drug vs. Combo
   

   Nov. 19, 2007 -- Rheumatoid arthritis patients who do not respond to single-drug treatments often do better on a combination of drugs, a review of the research shows. Researchers analyzed 23 studies comparing drugs that slow the progression of rheumatoid arthritis and published their findings online

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6. Combo Therapy Slashes Heart Risk in RA
   

   Nov. 9, 2007 (Boston) -- Combination therapy including TNF-inhibitors along with an older drug known as methotrexate can slash the risk of heart attack in people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). People with rheumatoid arthritis who receive TNF inhibitors plus methotrexate have an 80% lower risk of ha

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7. Overweight Affects RA Remission
   

   Nov. 8, 2007 (Boston) -- People with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who are overweight or obese may be less likely to go into remission when they are treated with a combination of conventional disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and steroids than their thinner counterparts, a study shows. Bu

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8. Widening Death Gap Haunts RA Patients
   

   Oct. 29, 2007 -- Rheumatoid arthritis cuts years off people's lives -- and despite treatment advances, patients die at the same rate they did 50 years ago. Over the same five decades, the general population has seen a big jump in life expectancy. This means that the "mortality gap" continues to wide

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9. Meditation May Ease RA Distress
   

   Sept. 28, 2007 -- New research shows that meditation may help people cope with rheumatoid arthritis. In a new study, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients reported less psychological distress after learning and practicing meditation for six months, compared with RA patients who didn't get meditation tr

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10. Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus: Gene Link
    

    Sept. 5, 2007 -- Scientists have found a genetic tie between rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. The finding may eventually inspire similar treatments for rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, which are autoimmune diseases. In autoimmune diseases, the immune system attacks the body. Rheumatoid arthritis and l

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