Category Archives: Rheumatoid Arthritis

Developing the Rheumatology Learning Health System – A Patient’s Story

A big part of ourCollaborating With Patients for Better Health科学倡议已经与主要伙伴合作建立了风湿病学习卫生系统(RLHS)。The goal of RLHS is to improve quality of care by enhancing communication between patients and their doctors through electronic dashboards.

These dashboards support meaningful conversations and shared decisions about care and treatment plans. They include patient-reported outcomes (PROs), enabling patients to list questions and concerns in advance of a clinical visit. Patients and doctors can turn on/off different data elements to focus on the most meaningful data.

在这个项目的试点阶段,该小组在三个儿科网站创建并测试了基于纸张的仪表板版本。在下一阶段,将创建电子版本的仪表板,并添加成人网站。詹妮弗正在帮助我们使这个项目成功。

Jennifer is a member of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Adult Pilot Site Team. She was diagnosed withrheumatoid arthritis (RA)10 years ago. While being treated with methotrexate, she started experiencing flares. Her doctor prescribed a short course of prednisone.

和她的医生一起查看RLHS仪表盘(如下图),帮助他们都看到了她的RAPID3评分中关节计数的增加。这促使她尝试一种新的药物。看到Jennifer在某个时间点的数据,然后随着时间的推移,帮助她和她的医生看到她的类风湿性关节炎活动如何需要一种不同的治疗方法。

Jennifer says, “In the past, when thinking about a change in therapy, I’ve had some hesitation. It involves weighing how well I’m currently doing against things like possible side effects. What impact will the new medication have? Will I feel better? And equally important, what’s the added cost of a new medication?”

The dashboard helps focus conversations between patients and doctors. Asking patients like Jennifer the “Why” behind the reluctance or hesitation about changing medications invites a conversation about patient preferences and whatever extra help they may need.

“We’re trying to improve patient care by helping patients and doctors prepare for office visits, working together as a team, and improving communication between visits,” explains Arthritis

Foundation Senior Vice President Guy Eakin, PhD. “This is a difficult experiment, and exactly the type of challenge we’re proud to be working with patients and professionals to accomplish. We are thankful for the generosity of our donors for making this project possible.”

The Arthritis Foundation is working with the following partner organizations: Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA); the Pediatric Rheumatology Care and Outcomes Improvement Network (PR-COIN); Understanding Childhood Arthritis Network – Canadian/Dutch Collaboration (UCAN, CAN-DU); and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice facilitates the group by providing strategic oversight and support for the RLHS.

rheumatoid arthritis research

ELMO1 – More Than Just Your Friendly, Red Sesame Street Character!

Dr. Sanja Arandjelovic has been studying inflammation and arthritis for a while – specifically, how a gene called ELMO1 is related toarthritis symptomsin mice. In 2010, the Arthritis Foundation awarded Dr. Arandjelovic the Philip S. Maaram Esq. Research (Planned Giving) 3-year grant for a project that studied cell enzymes related to joint inflammation inrheumatoid arthritis (RA)in mice.

During this study, Dr. Arandjelovic worked with Dr. Kodi Ravichandran and his research team at theUniversity of Virginiaon a related project, examining the process ofjoint inflammationin RA. Their work may provide clues to why the pain flare-ups associated with RA occur – and lead to new treatments.

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acr 2018

Patients Report on the Final ACR Conference Sessions

10月下旬,超过15000名医生、护士、物理治疗师、研究人员、科学家和其他对风湿病有兴趣和/或专业知识的人聚集在芝加哥,参加美国风湿病学会年会。The Arthritis Foundation had a contingent of “patient representatives” attending to provide the perspective and voice of peopleliving with arthritis. They fanned out to attend sessions, view and present posters and collect information about exciting new developments in the field. Here are their notes from the final sessions of the meeting.

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acr 2018

Patient Perspectives at the American College of Rheumatology Conference

“Patient perspective,” “patient-reported outcomes” and “shared decision making” are hot topics at theAmerican College of Rheumatology (ACR)2018 Annual Meeting in Chicago. In fact, many patients – including some of the Arthritis Foundation’s patient representatives – are attending the four-day event, which highlights rheumatology developments and draws medical professionals and researchers from around the world.

Donna Dernier, one of the Arthritis Foundation’s Patient Reps, reports that she ran into Hazel Breland, PhD, the incoming president of the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (AHRP), a division of the ACR. “She noticed my Patient Rep Sticker and stopped to say how glad she was to see patients involved with so many aspects of health care,” says Dernier.

Besides attending the conference, patients are getting involved in many ways. Four patients affiliated with the Arthritis Foundation exhibited posters during the Patient Perspectives Poster session on Sunday.

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Living Your Yes with RA Events 2017

2018 Living Your Yes With RA

Living Your Yes with RA is a personalized goal-setting event brought to you by the Arthritis Foundation. This free forum gives you the opportunity to learn ways that can help you say Yes more than No, despite the challenges of living withrheumatoid arthritis(RA). You’ll get expert advice from a local rheumatologist plus guidance on setting goals that can help you live life to the fullest. Let us help you manage your RA, as well as communicate effectively with your own doctor.
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spotlight on dr dougherty

Researchers on the Path to a Cure – Spotlight on Dr. Edward Doherty

Why is my immune system attacking my joints? What is the cause? If you haverheumatoid arthritis (RA),这可能是你在某个时候想知道的。爱德华·多尔蒂(Edward Doherty)博士也对此感到好奇,目前正在研究。Dr. Doherty and his co-investigator, Dr. Pathricia Tilstam are studying key cells that drive inflammation in their 2-yearArthritis Foundation-funded project, “MIF/CD74 signaling as a new candidate for immunotherapy of rheumatoid arthritis”. With autoimmune disorders like RA, something triggers the immune system to malfunction and attack healthy cells, causing inflammation and disease. Dr. Doherty and Dr. Tilstam are looking for some of the triggers to help develop more effective treatments to stop progression and joint destruction.

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obesity studies worsen inflammatory arthritis

Three New Studies Show How Extra Weight Worsens Inflammatory Arthritis

众所周知,肥胖会增加罹患风湿病和病情恶化的风险。Three new studies, presented recently at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology, characterize in greater detail the harmful effects of excess weight in people who haverheumatoid arthritis (RA)oraxial spondyloarthropathy (axSpA).

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andrea avery

Andrea Avery: Composing My Life

上周在冠军大会上,作家、亚利桑那州基金会志愿者安德里亚·艾弗里分享了她扣人心弦的故事,交织着她对钢琴的爱和她关节炎的现实。除了在凤凰城与数百名志愿者分享她的个人故事,她还会见了她的灵感,著名钢琴家拜伦·贾尼斯,并与他一起表演。下面是她的作品《奏鸣曲:痛苦与钢琴的回忆录》的节选。

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dr christine beeton

Researchers on the Path to a Cure – Spotlight on Dr. Christine Beeton

Venom can kill, but this research proves it could help do the opposite. More specifically, some chemicals found in venom could act as a treatment for disease. These chemicals come from a deadly reptile, but with the help of Dr. Christine Beeton, venom might be able to better the lives of multitudes of people.

Dr. Beeton and her research team are looking at the chemicals found in scorpion venom as a source of potential treatment for autoimmune diseases likerheumatoid arthritis (RA).

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dr c michael stein

Researchers on the Path to a Cure – Spotlight on Dr. C. Michael Stein

Every day, scientists work toward the advancement ofrheumatoid arthritis(RA)treatment. And Dr. C. Michael Stein has made an exciting new discovery that could help these advancements along and predict how specific treatments will work.

Dr. Stein is looking at small molecules that have the potential to cause big problems. His 5-year Arthritis Foundation-funded project, “Extracellular small RNAs in rheumatoid arthritis研究人员正在研究血液中的核糖核酸(RNA)小分子如何成为不同疾病的标记物。

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