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Two recent studies led by researchers from the University of Minnesota Medical School add new evidence to the impact of how drug price increases affect US patients and the overall cost of health care.

Population-based data shared at the EULAR 2021 congress -- The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus (SARS-CoV-2) is of particular concern for people with inflammatory diseases, and there are concerns that these people may be at higher risk and have poorer outcomes. However, at present the implications remain poorly understood. Population-based data from Spain show individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) had an increased risk of COVID-19 diagnosis and hospitalization compared to the general population. Similarly, data from the ARTIS database in Sweden show risks of severe COVID-19 were increased among people with inflammatory joint diseases.

UK data shared at the 2021 EULAR congress -- Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is an inflammatory disease that affects the arteries, often causing headaches, jaw pain, and vision problems. The precise cause is not known, but infection is thought to play a role. Immediately following the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of GCA diagnoses noticeably increased at the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Bath, United Kingdom (UK). Furthermore, there was an increase in the proportion of patients with visual complications. The finding is important for understanding the underlying disease mechanisms in GCA, and supports the idea that viral infection could be involved. It also has implications for the provision of local services.

Developing a call to action for a global healthcare challenge -- The current delay to diagnosis from symptom onset represents one of the greatest challenges in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) - a type of inflammatory arthritis affecting the back. Research shows an average delay of almost 7 years - and up to 15 years in some cases - during which time the condition can progress and lead to irreversible damage. Data indicates that women wait longer than men for a diagnosis, and there has been very limited progress in reducing the time to diagnosis. This delay has a hugely detrimental impact on a person's quality of life. Because the disease frequently has early onset, individuals are left untreated - or with incorrectly treated symptoms - at a formative period in their life course.

Researchers at William & Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science reveal that intensification of major oyster disease was due to evolving parasite, not just drought as previously thought.

Geologic activity on Earth appears to follow a 27.5-million-year cycle, giving the planet a 'pulse,' according to a new study published in the journal Geoscience Frontiers.

Professor Konstantin Arutyunov of the HSE Tikhonov Moscow Institute of Electronics and Mathematics (MIEM HSE), together with Chinese researchers, has developed a graphene-based mechanical resonator, in which coherent emission of sound energy quanta, or phonons, has been induced. Such devices, called phonon lasers, have wide potential for application in information processing, as well as classical and quantum sensing of materials. The study is published in the journal Optics Express.

Fruit flies have found at least two solutions to the problem of sorting their sex chromosomes: a matter of life and death.

Uveitis is an inflammation of the eye and is a common extra-articular manifestation associated with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). It can cause vision-threatening complications, and if left uncontrolled may even lead to blindness. The majority of children develop uveitis within the first 2 years after arthritis symptom onset, but it can continue into adulthood. This is the first prospective study to analyzed uveitis risk after drug withdrawal, and found that uveitis relapses are common. Rheumatologists and ophthalmologists should be aware and should plan for uveitis screening after drug withdrawal.

Data released at the 2021 EULAR congress show a substantial decline in the risk of both dementia and heart failure in people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) onset in the 2000s as compared to 1980s -- coinciding with the advent of novel biologic treatments for RA.

Analysis from the German GESPIC cohort presented at EULAR 2021 -- Sacroiliitis is an inflammation of the sacroiliac joints, situated where the lower spine and pelvis connect.?Sacroiliitis is linked to the disease axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and visible on X-ray. Observational cohort studies have shown that there is low, but still detectable progression in radiographic sacroiliitis, which might also have an impact on the function in patients with axSpA. Recent data show that tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) might slow spinal progression when started earlier and taken for longer. However, the question of whether they also have such an effect on radiographic progression in sacroiliac joints is still unclear.

Biologic and targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (b/tsDMARDs) have caused a shift in the treatment of patients with inflammatory joint disorders, and remission is now attainable. But the high cost of these drugs has caused restrictions on their use and prescription, contributing to inequality of care worldwide. An annual tender system was introduced in 2008 in Norway to reduce the costs of these drugs.

New data shared at the EULAR 2021 Virtual Congress -- There is increasing evidence that environmental air pollution is associated with people developing inflammatory arthritis. At the 2021 EULAR congress, a large population-based study of French women reports passive exposure to smoking during childhood or adulthood increases the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). A second study in Italy found that air pollution also has an impact - with air pollution levels showing an association with failure of biologic therapy.

Data presented at the 2021 EULAR congress show women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at increased risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes, especially pre-term birth and babies small for gestational age. For the first time, it has also been shown that the partners of men with inflammatory arthritis have a lower rate of live births, and are more likely to suffer a miscarriage. However, the link between disease activity, type and timing of antirheumatic treatment, and the risk of these outcomes remains unclear.

What The Study Did: Researchers describe the local transmission pattern of SARS-CoV-2 in Valencia, the third most populated city in Spain.

What The Study Did: Researchers reviewed access to COVID-19 vaccination sites in Brooklyn, the most populated borough in New York, to better understand disparities in vaccination.

Food has become one of the major challenges of the 21st century. According to a study carried out by CNRS scientists, an organic, sustainable, biodiversity-friendly agro-food system, could be implemented in Europe and would allow a balanced coexistence between agriculture and the environment. The scenario proposed is based on three levers.

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys have gained a deeper insight into the intricacies of autophagy, the process in which cells degrade and recycle cellular components.

The loss of a loved one can be a defining moment, even in the animal world. In chimpanzees, for example, individuals whose mothers die when they are young are smaller than their counterparts, reproduce less and are also more likely to die at a young age. But why? To find out, a research team studied the short- and long-term effects of maternal loss on the stress levels of orphaned chimpanzees over a 19-year period.

German RABBIT registry data -- Elderly people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are generally at increased risk of serious infections. At the same time, some anti-rheumatic treatments have been associated with a higher serious infection risk, but the extent to which older people are exposed to higher risks with some newer classes of therapy is an open question. Results of this study suggest that treatment with new classes of drugs is not associated with an increased risk of serious infection in elderly patients above 70 years of age.