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Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment

January 26, 2012 by · Comments Off on Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment 

Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment, More than 40 percent of rheumatoid arthritis patients live a sedentary life, a new study finds. It used to be thought that medication and rest was the best treatment, but now experts believe physical activity is important to keep joints flexible, improve balance and strength and reduce pain, the researchers noted.

“Our results suggest that public health initiatives need to address the lack of motivation to exercise and to promote the benefits of physical activity to reduce the prevalence of inactivity in those with rheumatoid arthritis,” said lead researcher Jungwha Lee, an assistant professor in the department of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

Physical inactivity among these patients is a public health concern, Lee said.

“Enhancing strong motivation for physical activity and strong beliefs in the benefits of physical activity may help rheumatoid arthritis patients to be more physically active,” she said.

The report was published in the Jan. 26 online edition of Arthritis Care & Research.

For the study, Lee’s team collected data on 176 patients with rheumatoid arthritis aged 18 and older who took part in a trial assessing the effectiveness of physical activity.

In addition, they looked at the relationship between inactivity and risk factors such as obesity and pain, and also the motivation for physical activity.

They found that 42 percent of the patients were inactive. These people didn’t participate in the moderate-to-vigorous physical activity program in the trial, which consisted of periods of activity at least 10 minutes during the week.

Arthritis Treatment

October 12, 2011 by · Comments Off on Arthritis Treatment 

Arthritis TreatmentArthritis Treatment, Arthritis Care UK provides support to treatment with tocilizumab. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommendations that tocilizumab should be more readily available for patients with arthritis have gained the support of Arthritis Care in the UK.

In 2010, Nice recommends tocilizumab as a way to treat people with arthritis if there has been an inadequate response to one or more TNF inhibitors and rituximab, which has also produced an inadequate response.

The drug is also recommended in the rituximab is contraindicated or has produced undesirable side effects.

Moscogiuri Federico, head of policy & campaigns Arthritis Care UK, said: “Although it is noteworthy that this guide is only preliminary, it represents a very encouraging in terms of improving treatment options for people with rheumatoid arthritis. ”

The Nice draft guidelines also specify that tocilizumab only be used in an early stage in the way of treating rheumatoid arthritis specific clinical circumstances, and only if the manufacturer offers tocilizumab with the discount plan agreed as part of access the patients.

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