Osteoarthritis and Bone Disorders News

Political activism is more accessible than ever thanks to the amplification offered by social media, and rheumatologists can use social media — particularly Twitter — to advocate for the profession and their patients, according to Angus Worthing, MD, private practice rheumatologist and chair of the Government Affairs Committee for the American College of Rheumatology.

Despite recommendations against their use, nearly 27% of patients with osteoarthritis still receive opioids and benzodiazepines, with about 36% of such individuals demonstrating at least one risk factor for prescription misuse, according to data from a large health care system published in Arthritis Care & Research.

Partial knee replacement was associated with an excess risk for long-term revision compared with total knee replacement, but may lower risk for venous thromboembolism in the short term and lower risk for persistent pain after surgery, according to data presented at the EULAR Annual Congress.

Bisphosphonate use before denosumab discontinuation was associated with less bone mineral density loss among postmenopausal women, according to findings presented at the EULAR Annual Congress.

A 6-week course of low-dose prednisolone was associated with significant improvement in hand osteoarthritis symptoms compared with placebo, according to results of a trial presented at the EULAR Annual Congress.

DESTIN, Fla. — Although there are many medications that can reduce the risk for, and the burden of, osteoporotic fractures, most of those drugs are not being used, and the osteoporosis treatment gap is “very large,” according to E. Michael Lewiecki, MD, FACP, FACE, of the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center.

DESTIN, Fla. — Although new advances in osteoporosis treatment have been effective in improving bone density and reducing fracture risk, the most important development in recent years has been the understanding of how best to use these drugs most effectively, according to Michael McClung, MD, founding director of the Oregon Osteoporosis Center.

In the ever-changing landscape of the United States health care system, rheumatologists need a voice. They need a voice in managing the complex web of drug pricing structures, a voice in developing clinical guidelines, and, on a fundamental level, a voice in simply communicating with all the players involved in running the day-to-day operations of a rheumatology practice.

We journey into the world of metabolic bone in this episode and explore the varied clinical manifestations of hypophosphatasia. We also interview the head of the center for osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease at the Cleveland Clinic, Chad Deal, MD.

Latina and African American women with knee osteoarthritis want their primary care physicians to provide more information regarding treatment options, while providers who treat such populations suggest they could benefit from a tutorial on their various options, according to findings published in Arthritis Care & Research.