Please, Let's Just Schedule Infusions at the Hospital

I wasn’t sure what to expect at the new office, but at least I knew that things shouldn’t change too much since the important relationship I already had was with my rheumatologist.  Of course, there was lots of paperwork to fill out and I brought a copy of my medical records which had been requested from the other medical center.  I realized that I would need to learn this office’s procedures, but it was a bit odd not recognizing any faces as I checked in.

When I did get back to see my rheumy, the visit went smoothly.  I didn’t really have many complaints which gave her the extra time to hound me about exercising more.  (I know that I need to do that for my own well-being, not just for my arthritis.)  We also talked about scheduling the next round of Rituxan infusions.

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Getting What You Need May Not Be So Simple When Your Doctor Moves Offices

Living with RA: Finding a Treatment You Can Stay With

In a recent study, researchers at the Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valladolid, Spain, took a closer look at the records of RA patients who were treated with select anti-TNF therapies between January 2011 and January 2012.  Researchers gathered demographic information and therapy assessments from medical and pharmaceutical records.  Staying on a treatment (also called drug survival or persistence of therapy) was presumed to be an overall marker of treatment success.

The primary objective of the study was to assess how long patients stayed on a particular anti-TNF drug and to identify potential predictors of drug discontinuation.  The overall goal of the study was to confirm whether or not current clinical practice is appropriate in terms of the choice of anti-TNF therapy for treating RA patients at this clinic.

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Enbrel vs. Remicade vs. Humira: Which Anti-TNF Drug Do RA Patients Stick With Longer?

When Reporters Don't Report Much

The news coming out of medical conferences can be exciting for the MS community.  The results of clinical trials are often released at these events.  Snippets of groundbreaking research can be hidden in the abstracts and poster presentations.  Publicity surrounding research is often considered good for scientists, their academic institutions, and the MS community at large.  Even if nothing comes of preliminary research, it is beneficial to be able to see how that research had developed over the years in retrospect. - See more at: http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/19065/163535/opinion-reporting#sthash.0t5EeWfO.dpuf

The news coming out of medical conferences can be exciting for the MS community.  The results of clinical trials are often released at these events.  Snippets of groundbreaking research can be hidden in the abstracts and poster presentations.  Publicity surrounding research is often considered good for scientists, their academic institutions, and the MS community at large.  Even if nothing comes of preliminary research, it is beneficial to be able to see how that research had developed over the years in retrospect. - See more at: http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/19065/163535/opinion-reporting#sthash.0t5EeWfO.dpuf

The news coming out of medical conferences can be exciting for the MS community.  The results of clinical trials are often released at these events.  Snippets of groundbreaking research can be hidden in the abstracts and poster presentations.  Publicity surrounding research is often considered good for scientists, their academic institutions, and the MS community at large.  Even if nothing comes of preliminary research, it is beneficial to be able to see how that research had developed over the years in retrospect. - See more at: http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/19065/163535/opinion-reporting#sthash.0t5EeWfO.dpuf

The news coming out of medical conferences can be exciting for the MS community.  The results of clinical trials are often released at these events.  Snippets of groundbreaking research can be hidden in the abstracts and poster presentations.  Publicity surrounding research is often considered good for scientists, their academic institutions, and the MS community at large.  Even if nothing comes of preliminary research, it is beneficial to be able to see how that research had developed over the years in retrospect.

The news coming out of medical conferences can be exciting for the MS community.  The results of clinical trials are often released at these events.  Snippets of groundbreaking research can be hidden in the abstracts and poster presentations.  Publicity surrounding research is often considered good for scientists, their academic institutions, and the MS community at large.  Even if nothing comes of preliminary research, it is beneficial to be able to see how that research had developed over the years in retrospect. - See more at: http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/c/19065/163535/opinion-reporting#sthash.0t5EeWfO.dpuf

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Opinion: Reporting on the "Not So Much News" News

Scientists Say 110 Genetics Variants are Connected to MS Risk

In the largest genetics study of its kind, researchers from around the world as part of the International Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Consortium (IMSGC) have identified an additional 48 genetic variants which may influence the risk of developing multiple sclerosis.  This work nearly doubles the number of known genetic risk factors, bringing the total to 110, and underlines the role that the immune system plays in the development of MS.

Published online September 29 in the journal Nature Genetics, the study, “Analysis of immune-related loci identifies 48 new susceptibility variants for multiple sclerosis,” represents the work of an international team of 193 investigators from 84 research groups in 13 countries.  The study, which was led by Jacob McCauley, Ph.D., of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, was funded by more than 40 agencies and foundations, including the Wellcome Trust, the National Institutes of Health, and the National MS Society.

Researchers used sophisticated genotyping technology known as ImmunoChip which was specifically designed to target a select set of genetic variants linked to one or more autoimmune diseases.  IMSGC researchers used the ImmunoChip platform to analyze the DNA from 29,300 individuals with multiple sclerosis and 50,794 unrelated healthy control without MS.  In addition to identifying 48 new genetic variants, the study confirmed and further refined a similar number of previously identified genetic associations.

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International Research Consortium Identifies 48 New Genetic Variants Associated with MS Risk