Rheumatoid Arthritis: Killer Disease

from the European Congress of Rheumatology, EULAR, in Copenhagen
Medical history was made yesterday with official declaration of a new cardiovascular risk factor: rheumatoid arthritis, along with two other rheumatologic disorders, ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis.
“In our view, rheumatoid arthritis [RA], ankylosing spondylitis [AS], and psoriatic arthritis [PsA] should be seen as new cardiovascular risk factors,” said [...]

A Taste of Reality for Drug Trials?

At the April 1st hearing of the FDA’s Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee, the panel was asked to evaluate Bristol-Myers Squibb’s cardiovascular safety data for its candidate diabetes drug saxagliptin. This was the first diabetes drug to be reviewed by the committee since the FDA issued new guidance in December 2008 requiring companies to [...]

Lifestyle vs. Pills

From the annual scientific session of the American College of Cardiology in Orlando
The people who put together the program for this year’s ACC meeting must be pleased by the  juxtaposition their scheduling produced during the latebreaker session on the afternoon of March 30.  Intended or not, two substantially different approaches to blood pressure reduction appeared side by side.
First [...]