Early use of biologic drugs such as belimumab may limit complications associated with steroid use and improve long-term outcomes in systemic lupus erythematosus, according to data presented at an international conference. Experts looked at data involving over 3,000 people from five trials of belimumab. The drug performed better than placebo both short term (under two years) and in the longer term (up to four years). Prof Karen Costenbader who is involved in the work says that “these results do support use of belimumab in early disease to improve outcomes. The benefits of early treatment of SL ..read more

A drug called bimekizumab shows rapid, clinically meaningful improvements to patient reported outcomes in psoriatic arthritis that were sustained up to one year, according to research in Rheumatology. Improvements in physical and psychological scores were seen as early as four weeks into treatment and continued throughout the year that the patients were tracked. “Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory disease that can significantly impact health-related quality of life across physical, social and emotional aspects,” highlights Prof Laure Gossec who is involved in the work. Bimekizumab ..read more

A new osteoporosis drug treatment called abaloparatide is set to be recommended for postmenopausal women by The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Abaloparatide, which is an anabolic drug, works in a slightly different way to many other drug treatments as it stimulates bone formation. This helps strengthen bones, making them less likely to break. The treatment is similar to teriparatide and will bring additional drug treatment options to people who have a very high fracture risk. Available to patients in the US for the treatment of osteoporosis since 2017, abaloparatide ..read more

Fibromyalgia may be caused by problems with the central nervous system. Does that mean we can train our brains to better process pain? Dr Richard Brown from the University of Manchester is on a mission to find out. Dr Brown and his team hope to create and test a new treatment that could help ease fibromyalgia pain. Perceptual training involves doing simple tasks on a computer that could teach the central nervous system how to better process pain over time. The treatment has been developed so the next step is to test it with healthy volunteers before seeing how effective it is at reducing pain ..read more

Medicine shortages are increasingly common around the world due to fragile chains of imports from Asia, inflation and global instability. The problem impacts hundreds of medicines in the UK, some of which are used by people with rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis. The National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society reports that abatacept 125mg pre-filled injection pens are expected to be in short supply from June 2024 onwards but should resolve by October 2024. A report from Community Pharmacy England shows that: • 99% of pharmacists encounter medicine supply issues at least once a ..read more

Reiki may be helpful for people with fibromyalgia after new research shows it reduces anxiety. What is Reiki? Reiki is a complementary non-invasive health approach in which practitioners place their hands lightly on or just above a person, with the goal of facilitating the individual’s own healing response. It means “universal life energy” in Japanese; its advocates believe that our energy fields affect our physical and spiritual health. New findings A team looked at the effects Reiki therapy has on alleviating anxiety in 824 adults. They found that short-term Reiki therapy of up to eight se ..read more

Walking brings huge benefits for low back pain, says new research in The Lancet. In fact, adults with a history of low back pain went nearly twice as long without a recurrence if they walked regularly. About 800 million people globally have low back pain and it’s hard to shake off; seven in 10 people who recover from an episode have a recurrence within a year. Current recommendations suggest exercise and education is the most helpful approach. Some forms of exercise are difficult to access or expensive, however. A recent trial looked at if walking could be an effective, cheap and accessible i ..read more

Berberine, a natural compound already used in traditional Chinese medicine, may have some benefits for people with autoimmune disease, says a new review of the evidence. A bitter-tasting and yellow-coloured chemical, berberine is found in European barberry, goldenseal, goldthread, Oregon grape and tree turmeric. The team that looked at how it treats rheumatoid arthritis and other conditions says that “berberine was shown to be effective and safe for treatment of autoimmune diseases”. One issue is that berberine’s absorption into the body from the intestine isn’t very efficient. So a special n ..read more

A high intake of a chemical found naturally in plants is associated with reduced risk of rheumatoid arthritis in a new study. What are flavonoids? Flavonoids are a diverse group of plant chemicals present in almost all fruits and vegetables. Responsible for the vivid colours of many plants, flavonoids have various beneficial effects on human health. We already know that flavonoids have anti-inflammatory effects that influence rheumatoid arthritis in animals, but less research has been done on people. What does the new research show? Data was analysed from three large surveys of nearly 7,500 p ..read more

People with rheumatoid arthritis could enjoy far-reaching benefits if they take up yoga, says new research in Rheumatology International. Enhanced joint health, reduced pain severity and decreased disease activity were just some of the advantages experienced by people with rheumatoid arthritis who practiced regular yoga for three months whilst taking their standard treatments. Whilst new generations of rheumatoid arthritis drugs have helped many people bring their symptoms under control, many still endure inadequate relief. This study of 10 people suggests that “yoga practice may enhance pati ..read more