Juvenile Arthritis News

A rheumatologist is a specialist in the field of rheumatology who has received postgraduate training and experience in the diagnosis and treatment of arthritis and other diseases of the joints, muscles and bones. Apart from the main types of arthritis, such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, a rheumatologist may treat 100 different types of pain and musculoskeletal disorders, including autoimmune diseases, back pain, fibromyalgia, gout, lupus, osteoporosis, Sjögren’s syndrome, spondylitis, Still’s disease and tendinitis.

Children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis have higher rates of bacterial infection requiring hospitalization and use of high-dose steroids significantly increases that risk, according to a study published in Arthritis & Rheumatism.

Arthritis is commonly called joint pain, and is characterized by joint inflammation. It is a chronic disease that most frequently occurs in the knees, hips and hands, but may also occur in the shoulders. Most other joints are not usually affected. Arthritis is the breakdown of the cartilage, which is the part of a joint that cushions the ends of the bones and allows for movement. Deterioration of the cartilage causes the bones to rub against one another and leads to symptoms including varying levels of pain, swelling, stiffness or a dull ache surrounding the affected joint(s).  A health care professional may diagnose arthritis by clinical examination. This diagnosis may be supported by radiology or blood tests. 

Children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis appear at least twice as likely to develop cancer when compared to children without juvenile idiopathic arthritis, irrespective of arthritis medication, according to a study published in Arthritis and Rheumatism.

Uncemented total wrist arthroplasty performed with third generation implants in patients with arthritis showed a 7% revision rate at 5 years, according to a study presented by Robin Kamal, MD, at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand.

Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs appear to be more effective than other treatments for pediatric patients with arthritis, according to a report from the US Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Genentech announced in a press release that the FDA approved ACTEMRA (tocilizumab) for the treatment of active systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis in patients 2 years of age and older.

The American College of Rheumatology has developed new guidelines for the initiation and monitoring of treatments for patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

The rate of relapse among patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis in remission was not reduced by longer treatment with the drug methotrexate, according to German investigators.

Outcomes of cataract surgery in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated uveitis depend on strict control of inflammation, according to a study.