| HOME >> MEDICINE >> TECHNOLOGY |
New Treatment Pathways
A study led by Dr. Gary S. Firestein at the University of California
School of Medicine, San Diego focuses on how the central nervous system
can control inflammation in RA. The group identified a new pathway that
allows the spinal cord and brain to decrease joint inflammation and joint
destruction. Now that this pathway is identified, new therapies can be
developed to utilize it and mimic the anti-inflammatory effects of the
central nervous system.
Early Detection of RA
Successful management of RA requires early medical intervention and a new
study led by Dr. Antony Rosen at the Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine seeks to identify specific pathways that drive RA development and
generate tissue damage. Dr. Rosen and his team of researchers are working
to define new blood tests to help rheumatologists diagnose RA in its early
stages, which will improve their ability to predict which patients will
develop worse joint destruction, and potentially provide the tools to
monitor disease activity and prevent early RA from amplifying.
Health Literacy and Patient-Physician Interaction
Dr. Edward Yelin and Dr. Jennifer Barton of the University of California,
San Francisco are leading the most systematic attempt to understand the
role that patient-physician communication and health literacy play in
understanding disparities in RA treatment and healthcare outcomes for
different patient populations. This study compares standard measures of
disease activity such as degree of joint damage, with assessments of
socioeconomic status such as income, education level and employment
status, race/ethnicity of the patient and the language spoken at home to
explain disparities in care and treatment of RA.
About Within Our Reach: Finding a Cure
'/>"/>
| SOURCE ACR Research and Education Foundation Copyright©2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved |