Celebrex, a popular arthritis drug that blocks pain by inhibiting an enzyme known as COX-2, has been shown in laboratory studies to induce arrhythmia, or irregular beating of the heart, via a novel pathway unrelated to its COX-2 inhibition.

Powerful drugs used to treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis have a profound, previously unrecognized effect on the immune system, breaking up molecular “training camps” for rogue cells that play an increasingly recognized role in autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

Researchers have found a way to selectively block the ability of white blood cells to “crawl” toward the sites of injury and infection when such mobility drives disease, according to a study published today in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.

A breakthrough in understanding the way atoms move across cell membranes in the human body could pave the way for the development of new treatments for inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Investigators at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have identified the previously unknown role of a chemical ‘messenger’ leading to autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

Researchers at Cincinnati Children’s have issued the first study showing that a protein normally involved in blood clotting (fibrin), also plays an important role in the inflammatory response and development of rheumatoid arthritis. Inflammatory joint disease appears to be driven by the engagement of inflammatory cells with fibrin matrices through a specific integrin receptor, aMB2.

With the nation collectively spending about $18 billion per year on osteoporosis related bone fractures, Geisinger researchers found that streamlining the ordering process for osteoporosis bone density scans quadrupled the number of patients who received the exam.

The innovative new rheumatoid arthritis drug Actemra (tocilizumab) has been shown to significantly improve the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in patients who failed to achieve an adequate response to traditional disease modifying agents (DMARDs).

People with rheumatoid arthritis have a higher risk for developing heart disease than the general population; however, it is difficult to identify which patients are at increased risk. Researchers at Mayo Clinic have developed a simple approach to predict heart disease in these patients within ten years of their initial diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis.

University of Manchester researchers have identified a genetic variant in a region on chromosome 6 that is associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the most common inflammatory arthritis affecting 387,000 people in the UK.

An autoimmune inflammatory disease that takes a progressive toll on the heart, kidney and liver as well as the joints, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with a high risk of early death.

Scientists at Duke University Medical Center may have solved the mystery surrounding the healing properties of gold – a discovery they say may renew interest in gold salts as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.