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Could Your Back Pain Be Gout?

Could Your Back Pain Be Gout?

If you have ever had back pain, you know how difficult it can be to pinpoint the cause. From bone spurs to overworked muscles to slipped discs, there’s no shortage of ailments that could be at the root of your aching lumbar. And here’s one more. Over the last 10 years, rheumatologists have documented more cases of gout appearing in the spine. So if you are one of the 8 million Americans with this inflammatory form of arthritis – and you have unexplained back or neck pain, tingling sensations down your arm or leg, or numbness – there’s a small chance ...more
Psoriatic Arthritis Research Briefs: Disease Burden, Eye Surgery, New Biologic

Psoriatic Arthritis Research Briefs: Disease Burden, Eye Surgery, New Biologic

Keep up-to-date on psoriatic arthritis (PsA) research with our brief research summaries. Enthesitis and Dactylitis Associated With Greater Disease Burden The presence of dactylitis – inflammation of the fingers and/or toes – and enthesitis – inflammation of the sites where the tendons or ligaments insert into the bone – can have important implications for people with PsA. A study of 1,567 PsA patients found that, overall, those with dactylitis or enthesitis had greater disease activity. Additionally those with enthesitis had worse functional status, reported more pain and fatigue and were more likely to have work impairment. The study’s authors say their findings underscore ...more
What to Eat and Avoid for Gout

What to Eat and Avoid for Gout

Food choices plays an important role in managing gout, the most common form of inflammatory arthritis in the United States. Gout occurs when uric acid builds up in the blood (instead of being excreted) and gets deposited as crystals in one or more joints, triggering sudden swelling and pain. Uric acid is a by-product of the breakdown of purines, naturally occurring compounds in the body and in certain foods, which is why diet can be important for controlling gout attacks. We asked rheumatologist Hyon K. Choi, MD, a gout expert and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, what people with ...more
FDA Approves Two New Drugs for Psoriatic Arthritis

FDA Approves Two New Drugs for Psoriatic Arthritis

Good news for the approximately two million Americans with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Those with active disease now have two new treatment options: the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December approved both ixekizumab (Taltz) and tofacitinib (Xeljanz) for the treatment of PsA. This is the second approved indication for ixekizumab. The biologic, which is injected, was approved in March 2016 to treat moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in adults. It can be taken alone or in combination with a traditional disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD), such as methotrexate. This is also the second approved indication for tofacitinib, a so-called targeted DMARD that is taken ...more
Psoriatic Arthritis Research Briefs: Etanercept, Bariatric Surgery, Joint Replacement

Psoriatic Arthritis Research Briefs: Etanercept, Bariatric Surgery, Joint Replacement

Keep up-to-date on the latest psoriatic arthritis (PsA) research with our brief research summaries. For PsA, Etanercept Alone Works Similarly to Combination Therapy When prescribing the biologic drug etanercept (Enbrel), doctors often add methotrexate, believing two drugs will work better than one. A recent study shows that for psoriatic arthritis (PsA), etanercept may work just as well alone. Examining data from 474 people who either received etanercept alone or etanercept with methotrexate, researchers found little difference between the two in in measures of disease activity or disability after 24 weeks. Source: Journal of Rheumatology, June 2016 Bariatric Surgery Eases PsA Symptoms People with psoriatic arthritis ...more
Gout and OA—What’s the Connection?

Gout and OA—What’s the Connection?

A swollen, stiff knee might immediately lead you to suspect you have osteoarthritis (OA), but the culprit could also be gout. Like many close relatives, the two conditions share common features. And because they often occur together, you might wonder which one is causing your symptoms. “It’s definitely possible for people to have both conditions at the same time. They’re the two most common types of arthritis,” says Svetlana Krasnokutsky, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology at NYU Langone Health. “They can affect the same joints.” OA is a degenerative disease that gradually breaks down the cartilage that ...more
Making Smart Meat Choices If You Have Gout

Making Smart Meat Choices If You Have Gout

If you’re changing your diet to help lower uric acid levels and reduce your risk of gout attacks, meat choices can have a big impact. Some meats are high in purines.  Purines are substances found naturally in the body as well as in in foods. They are broken down in the body to form uric acid. When excess uric acid in the bloodstream builds too quickly or can’t be eliminated fast enough, it is deposited as needle-shaped crystals in the tissues of the body, including joints, causing intense pain.  So, a high-purine diet puts you at greater risk for uric ...more
Heart Diet Good for Gout

Heart Diet Good for Gout

A diet that’s best known for promoting heart health may also help gout management. The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, which emphasizes fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products, may lower serum uric acid (SUA) levels. In a study published in Clinical Rheumatology in March 2017,  research findings showed that the diet reduced SUA within 30 days, with a sustained effect at 90 days. In an earlier study reported in Arthritis & Rheumatology in August 2016, researchers reported similar finding in some cases. Gout occurs when excess uric acid builds up in the blood and ...more
FDA OKs Biologic for Psoriatic Arthritis

FDA OKs Biologic for Psoriatic Arthritis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the biologic drug abatacept (Orencia) to treat psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in adults. It’s already approved for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and for one subtype of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Abatacept is a biologic medication that works by targeting T-lymphocytes (T cells), immune cells that are overproduced in people with inflammatory arthritis. The drug, technically called a “selective costimulation modulator,” attaches to the surface of the cells, preventing them from communicating with other cells and producing chemicals that can lead to joint damage and symptoms like pain and swelling. It’s given as a monthly infusion ...more
Increasing Allopurinol Dose May Better Control Gout

Increasing Allopurinol Dose May Better Control Gout

In addition to being treated with medication for symptoms of an acute flare, should a person with gout be put on long-term uric acid-lowering medication to reduce future flares? And is it safe to keep raising the dose of the medication until uric acid drops below a specified target? Rheumatologists and other physicians are currently grappling with those questions, and a new study may help lead to some answers. What Is Gout? Gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis in the United States, affecting more than 8 million adults. It develops in some people who have high levels of uric acid ...more