Category: Treatments & Therapies

GP eLearning course for AS diagnosis

The current delay to diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) stands at 8.5 years. NASS are committed to reducing this delay to diagnose. There are many factors impacting on this delay but an important issue is the recognition of AS in primary care and prompt referral on to rheumatology.

NASS have worked in partnership with the British Society for SpondyloArthritis (BRITSpA) to sponsor an eLearning course on ankylosing spondyloarthritis (axial spondyloarthritis) (AS) on the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) website. The course aims to educate GPs about AS.…

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NICE Technology appraisal on bisphosphonates for osteoporosis

On 10th July 2017, NICE issued a new Technology Appraisal (TA) for bisphosphonates which links the recommendations for drug treatments to advice on fracture risk assessment outlined in their earlier guidance. The TA is not intended to provide treatment thresholds but offers recommendations on cost-effective use of bisphosphonates when using fracture risk assessment as described in their guideline www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg146.

For the first time, these recommendations will apply to men as well as women.

The TA says that provided an individual meets the criteria for fracture risk assessment there should be no financial barrier to them receiving bisphosphonates if they have a fracture risk of at least 1% using FRAX or QFracture.…

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Belimumab (Benlysta) approved for restricted use in NHS Scotland

On Monday 8th May 2017 the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) published new advice accepting the restricted use of belimumab (Benlysta) by NHS Scotland for lupus patients. This advice was published following a re-submission with evidence supplied by GlaxoSmithKline (the producers of Benlysta) and LUPUS UK on behalf of patients.

 

Belimumab is the first drug approved to treat lupus in more than 50 years and is the first drug developed specifically for lupus since the disease was discovered. It is approved for adults with active, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus) who are receiving other lupus medicines.…

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HUG/ARMA Stoke Meeting

Geoffrey Lawton, Stoke ARMA group chair, invites you to:

The HUG/ARMA group meeting on 19th May 2017

at 1pm, in the Lecture room of

Haywood Hospital, Burslem, Stoke on Trent ST6 7AG

 

Refreshments will be provided from 12:45pm and drinks during the meeting.

A wide range of topics are on the agenda including presentations on all aspects of Arthritis-related treatments.

Whether you are an elite athlete, weekend warrior or an everyday active person the musculoskeletal care pathway for rehabilitation is the same

Guest Blog by Dr Jo Larkin, Sport and Exercise Medicine Consultant FFSEM

The knowledge and principles used to treat elite professional athletes in Sport and Exercise Medicine can be used to treat injuries occurring in the rest of the population.

The musculoskeletal (MSK) rehabilitation plan must consider the fact that the objective of the patient is to return to the same activity and environment in which the injury occurred. Functional capacity after rehabilitation should at the minimum be to at the same level, if not better, than before injury.…

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Updated LUPUS UK Publications

In the past month LUPUS UK has published updated versions of three of our information leaflets/booklets. These publications were updated to ensure that they meet the requirements of the Information Standard and reflected the most up-to-date evidence.

Physical copies are available to order free of charge from LUPUS UK National Office, or you can read/download them on our website by following the hyperlinks:

 

Contribution to the Scottish Medicines Consortium’s (SMC) consultation of the use of Benlysta (belimumab) in SLE

Benlysta (belimumab) is due to be discussed by the SMC and a decision made for its use by certain SLE patients in Scotland.…

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DMARDs guideline for prescriptions and monitoring

The latest guidance is out for the prescription and monitoring of non-biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). It’s aimed at primary and secondary care practitioners managing patients with rheumatic disease in the UK.

Significant updates include:

(1) Harmonisation of monitoring schedules, recommending that all DMARDs that require laboratory monitoring follow the same frequency of testing

(2) More nuanced discussion of the use of methotrexate in lung disease is provided, drawing from the two large meta-analyses recently published.

(3) Significant change is made regarding the evaluation of retinal toxicity for hydroxychloroquine users:

Lead author Dr James Galloway, Senior Clinical Lecturer at King’s College London says:
“These updates have two major focuses: firstly, streamlining monitoring schedules wherever possible, given the myriad of different regimens across drugs, and most of the schedule variations were somewhat arbitrary in their origins; second, to review and incorporate the evidence base available, acknowledging several key publications that have emerged since the first guidance.…

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Providing physical activity for people with musculoskeletal conditions

aruk thumbThis month Arthritis Research UK launched the new report ‘Providing physical activity interventions for people with musculoskeletal conditions’ at the Local Government Association/Associated Directors of Public Health conference on the 9th of March, where we also ran a policy session outlining the work in the report and the wider relationship between physical activity and musculoskeletal health.

Joining us at the event were speakers from Public Heath England, the Royal Borough of Greenwich and an expert patient on exercising with arthritis and we were very pleased that delegates from a wide range of professional backgrounds attended the session.  …

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A Message to My Younger Self

The National Osteoporosis Society is launching “A Message to My Younger Self” – an awareness campaign about keeping bones strong and health. It begins on 12th April 2017 and runs through to World Osteoporosis Day on 20th October. NOS want the generations to have a conversation about healthy bones, to talk about the steps that can be taken to make sure bones are strong, and to give a voice to the millions of people with the condition.

The campaign is being fronted by Liz Earle who is personally concerned about the impact of social media on the eating habits of her teenage children, backed-up by research that we have conducted showing that 20% of 18-24 year olds have reduced or completely cut out dairy from their diets, which could potentially be storing up problems for them in later life.…

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Calling all back pain sufferers

The Back Pain Show – 19 & 20 May 2017

After a decade, The Back Pain Show has moved from Olympia London to St Andrews Birmingham, to give access to sufferers from the Midlands and the North of England. This iconic, two-day show is a hub for sufferers to meet doctors and therapists who provide treatment and manufacturers who supply both preventative and therapeutic equipment.

There are many causes of back pain including crush fractures of the spine which are usually caused by osteoporosis.…

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