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Study compares mortality rates of women with painful knee and hand osteoarthritis with the mortality of unaffected women from the same community; demonstrates higher risk of early death in the group with painful knee osteoarthritis

Research looking at risk of early mortality of British middle-aged women and osteoarthritis was presented at the World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases. It shows that any painful knee osteoarthritis is strongly associated with early overall and cardiovascular mortality. Interestingly these findings are independent to most of the known risk factors linked with early mortality. The study was based on the data from the Chingford Study.

Counseling at-risk patients may prevent and minimize pain

New research presented at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) identifies nicotine dependence, obesity, alcohol abuse and depressive disorders as risk factors for low back pain, a common condition causing disability, missed work, high medical costs and diminished life quality.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) 2012 National Health Survey, nearly one-third of U.S. adults reported that they had suffered from low back pain during the previous three months.

Chronic low back pain can limit everyday activities, including sex. New research presented at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), found that 70 percent of patients consider sexual activity "relevant" to their life quality, and patients who receive surgical treatment for spinal spondylolisthesis (DS) and spinal stenosis (SS)--common degenerative conditions most often occurring in older adults--were twice as likely to report no pain during sex.

"Our current research sheds light on the effect that spinal surgery has on a patient's sex life and begins to describe the impact spinal disease has on this very important aspect of life," said senior study author Shane Burch, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon at the University of California, San Francisco.

Young people with arthritis rely heavily on their mums for support during times of change and uncertainty - despite claiming to be independent, according to new research from Arthritis Research UK.

Young people with inflammatory arthritis have to make tough decisions about whether to take powerful drugs that they may have to remain on for the rest of their lives.

But while they claim that they make these decisions themselves, new research from Newcastle University and published in Rheumatology reveals that their mothers 'played a particularly prominent role, providing cognitive practical and emotional support' and had a considerable influence on their sons' and daughters' treatment decisions.

Janssen has announced that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), has recommended Stelara® (ustekinumab) in its Final Appraisal Determination (FAD)¹ as a treatment option for patients with active psoriatic arthritis, when the response to previous non-biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) therapy has been inadequate.

According to the FAD, ustekinumab is recommended as an option, alone or in combination with methotrexate, for treating active psoriatic arthritis in adults only when:

• treatment with tumour necrosis factor (TNF) alpha inhibitors is contraindicated but would otherwise be considered or
• the person has had treatment with 1 or more TNF-alpha inhibitors.

Scientists have discovered why some heart tissue turns into bone, and they may have learned how to stop it

This image shows blood flow in the heart activates the NOTCH1 gene, triggering a cascade of anti-inflammatory and anti-calcification pathways. Disruption of this process can result in a hardening of the valves in cardiovascular disease.
Credit: Christina Theodoris

Researchers from the Gladstone Institutes have used human cells to discover how blood flow in the heart protects against the hardening of valves in cardiovascular disease. What's more, they've identified a potential way to correct this process when it goes wrong by flipping the switch on just a handful of genes.

Tablet use has rocketed. Last year in the US, for example, 42% of under 18's owned one and more than half of 35-49 year olds used them regularly. This figure seems unlikely to decrease and yet only limited guidance is available on minimising health risks. Tablet use requires significant head and neck flexion and has implications for potential neck injury to users. In an article in Ergonomics, researchers from Washington State University evaluate the head-neck biomechanics during tablet use, the implications for the neck musculature and future ergonomics recommendations.

Past research has highlighted a link between increased head and neck flexion and pain.