Culture

London, United Kingdom, June 9, 2016: The results of a UK study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) showed that using Facebook to raise awareness about the symptoms of Inflammatory Back Pain (IBP) and the need to seek medical help early may reduce the delay in diagnosis and treatment. The findings suggest that Facebook advertising may be a more effective way of identifying IBP patients earlier than other approaches, including newspaper adverts.

London, United Kingdom, June 10, 2016: The results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) showed that sexual dysfunction is present in more than one-third of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who are still sexually active, both men and women. A variety of difficulties may affect RA patients, including lack of libido, painful intercourse, orgasmic dysfunction, premature ejaculation and a non-satisfactory sexual life.

London, United Kingdom, June 10, 2016: Two new studies presented at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) have shed light on why so many patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) do not adhere to their therapy, even in the early stages of their treatment. These new insights should be used to inform strategies designed to improve treatment adherence that in turn will optimise treatment outcomes and reduce healthcare costs.

The two studies highlight that:

London, United Kingdom, 10 June 2016: The results of a UK study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) showed that tumour necrosis factor inhibitor (anti-TNF) treatment is effective at improving both muscle and skin involvement in children with juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM). These findings bring new hope to JDM patients who have failed to respond to multiple drug treatments and who, as a result, have a greater risk of painful complications and premature death.

London, United Kingdom, June 10, 2016: The results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) showed that a range of factors other than just cost may influence the prescribing of TNF inhibitors for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

London, United Kingdom, June 10, 2016: The results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) showed for the first time that a combination of text messages and individual counselling sessions to motivate patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) to be more active resulted in improved patient-reported clinical outcomes. This type of behavioural intervention was effective at reducing daily sitting time by an average of more than two hours in RA patients, and also reduced their cholesterol levels.

London, United Kingdom, June 10, 2016: The results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) showed that prolonged repetitive physical workload increases the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Although work-related physical activity over many years is known to cause many cases of osteoarthritis (OA) in selected joints, this is the first study to show a link between physical workload and RA.1

Nice, France - 10 June 2016: The first consensus paper on atrial cardiomyopathies is set to be published simultaneously in EP-Europace, HeartRhythm, and the Journal of Arrhythmia. The key contents are launched today at CARDIOSTIM - EHRA EUROPACE 2016.1

Air pollution -- including environmental and household air pollution -- has emerged as a leading risk factor for stroke worldwide, associated with about a third of the global burden of stroke in 2013, according to a new study published in The Lancet Neurology journal.

New Haven, Conn.-- If the U.S. healthcare system were a country, it would rank 13th in the world for greenhouse gas emissions, according to new research. The study, published June 9 in PLOS ONE, quantified previously unreported environmental and public health impacts of the nation's healthcare sector.

Racial and ethnic disparities in the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders may result from key faulty assumptions about the best ways of addressing the needs of minority patients. Those assumptions are detailed, along with recommendations for potential improvement strategies, in an article in the June issue of Health Affairs

CHICAGO --- About 80 percent of patients with moderate to severe psoriasis saw their disease completely or almost completely cleared with a new drug called ixekizumab, according to three large, long-term clinical trials led by Northwestern Medicine.

The results of these phase III trials were compiled in a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

London, United Kingdom, 8 June 2016: Results from patient-focused initiatives unveiled at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) have highlighted the importance of seeking and better understanding the patient perspective, as well as actively encouraging patient participation, to optimise care of rheumatic diseases.

Findings from these patient-focused initiatives show:

Gathering evidence on the impact of Kenya's record-breaking ivory burn on elephant conservation should be an urgent priority according to four University of Queensland scientists.

Dr Duan Biggs from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED) said the ivory burns and stockpile destruction had increased by more than 600 per cent since 2011, with Kenya burning a record-breaking 105 tons of ivory on 30 April, valued at up to US$220 million on the black market.

Nice, France - 9 June 2016: A 15 year study in 1.1 million patients with atrial fibrillation has found that women are 23% more likely to be hospitalised for acute ischaemic stroke than men. The research was presented today at CARDIOSTIM - EHRA EUROPACE 2016 by Dr Ghanshyam Shantha, a cardiovascular disease fellow at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa, US.1