Chronic Awareness
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Pleasure, pain brain signals disrupted in fibromyalgia patients
New research indicates that a disruption of brain signals for reward and punishment contributes to increased pain sensitivity, known as hyperalgesia, in fibromyalgia patients. Results published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of…
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Young people report worse fibromyalgia than older patients
It may seem counterintuitive, but young and middle-aged fibromyalgia patients report worse symptoms and poorer quality of life than older patients, a Mayo Clinic study shows. Fibromyalgia most often strikes women. It is…
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Discovery could eventually help diagnose and treat chronic pain
More than 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain. But treating and studying chronic pain is complex and presents many challenges. Scientists have long searched for a method to objectively measure pain and…
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Biological Link Between Pain And Fatigue Discovered
A recent University of Iowa study reveals a biological link between pain and fatigue and may help explain why more women than men are diagnosed with chronic pain and fatigue conditions like fibromyalgia…
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New Studies Showed Mixed-But-Promising Results for New Lupus Drug Anifrolumab
Lupus patients have been waiting a while for some good news. Only one drug, belimumab (Benlysta), has been FDA-approved for lupus in more than 50 years — and that happened back in 2011.…
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Nearly Half of Giant Cell Arteritis Patients on Actemra for a Year Stay in Remission After Stopping It
“Giant cell arteritis requires ongoing management, but it does not necessarily require continuous treatment.” In 2017, tocilizumab (Actemra), a biologic drug that inhibits interleukin-6 (IL-6), was FDA-approved for giant cell arteritis — an…
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Vagus Nerve Stimulation: A New Way to Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis
Some people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) take a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) and/or a biologic and reach remission. Others try drug after drug after drug and never find one that’s effective — or…
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More Than 75% of Arthritis Patients Don’t Get Hepatitis Screening Before Starting a Biologic
Screening is important because silent hepatitis B and C infections can spring to life when you start biologics or new synthetic DMARDs. Before you start taking a biologic drug or one of the…
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Good News for Pregnant Women with Arthritis: Most Babies Exposed to Biologics in Utero Don’t Get Serious Infections
Although biologics cross the placenta, research shows they lead to few infections in babies after they’re born. The prospect of pregnancy can be daunting for women with inflammatory arthritis. Not only can disease…
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The 5 Ways My Artwork Helps Me Cope with My Multiple Chronic Diseases
‘Art enables me to face my body and my life with courage.’ Chronic 24/7 pain, fatigue, swelling, and a host of other symptoms are all part of my journey with rheumatoid arthritis, axial…
