Omega-3s Revealed

Researchers have long known omega-3 fatty acids help reduce inflammation. Now they know how.

by Linda RichardsPosted 2/12/07

Understanding how your body benefits from eating omega-3 fatty acids is an important part of understanding why you should eat them. But, until recently, no one really knew what made omega-3s so beneficial. Researchers, however, have uncovered the secret of omega-3 fatty acids. A study at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston revealed that omega-3s actually convert into compounds that are 10,000 times more potent than the original fatty acids themselves. So what does this mean to us? The new compounds include resolvins, which help bring the inflammatory response to an end, says the study’s lead researcher, Charles Serhan, PhD, director, Center for Experimental Therapeutics and Reperfusion Injury at Harvard Medical School, Boston. Continue reading ...

New Drug for Arthritis?

New drug for arthritis?: Merck seeking FDA approval for Arcoxia, a chemical relative of Vioxx, which was linked to heart attacks

Kathleen Kerr, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Mar. 21, 2007 -- In a bid to recapture a piece of the arthritis pain-relief market, Merck & Co. is seeking government approval for Arcoxia, a chemical relative of Vioxx, the drug pulled off drugstore shelves in 2004 after being linked to heart attacks.

In its last full year on the market, Vioxx brought in about $2.5billion in sales. If the Food and Drug Administration approves Arcoxia, Merck could recoup some of those sales.

On April 12 an FDA advisory panel will consider approval of Arcoxia for osteoarthritis; it is already sold in 62 other countries. The FDA usually follows advisory panel recommendations. Continue reading ...

FDA Whistle Blower Blasts New Arthritis Drug

FDA whistle-blower Graham blasts new Merck arthritis drug

Updated 9/12/2006 9:51 PM ET

By Rita Rubin, USA TODAY / Health & Behavior

The arthritis drug that Merck has developed to compete with Celebrex may be as risky for the heart as Vioxx, writes Food and Drug Administration whistle-blower David Graham in an editorial posted online Tuesday by a medical journal.

In considering whether Arcoxia should be approved, "the FDA, academia, and the medical research enterprise are once again faced with the opportunity to forsake common sense by willfully accepting misdirection and disinformation presented in the guise of science," Graham writes on the Journal of the American Medical Association's website. Continue reading ...

Abatacept/Methotrexate Combo Reduces Progression of Rheumatoid Arthritis: Presented at EULAR

By Chris Berrie

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS -- June 30, 2006 -- Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have a continual and increasing benefit effect when they are treated with the combination of abatacept and methotrexate (MTX), according to the open-label long-term extension of the randomised, double-blind Abatacept in Inadequate Responders to Methotrexate (AIM) study.

The findings of the (AIM-LTE) were presented here on June 23rd at the 2006 Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR) by principal investigator Harry Genant, MD, professor emeritus, department of radiology and medicine, University of California San Francisco, and chairman of the board of directors, Synarc, San Francisco, California, United States.

Abatacept, a selective co-stimulation modulator that targets T-cell activation, has been demonstrated to have efficacy in patients with active RA who have an inadequate response to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Continue reading article ...

Abbott receives FDA approval for new delivery device for Arthritis drug called Humira

ABBOTT PARK, Ill (AFX) - Abbott Laboratories said it has received US Food and Drug Administration approval for a new 'pen' delivery device for its Humira arthritis drug. Currently, Humira is taken as an injection beneath the skin via a specially designed prefilled syringe, and the company said the Humira pen is designed to be less painful and easier to use. Humira is currently indicated for moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis and for active arthritis in patients with psoriatic arthritis, the company added. Abbott said the Humira pen will be available to US patients at the beginning of August. ... AFX News Limited / Forbes.com, June 26, 2006

Click To view Abbott Humira Pen and specifications

Abatacept for People with Active Rheumatoid Arthritis

Annals of Internal Medicine

20 June 2006 - Rheumatoid arthritis is joint pain and stiffness caused by an immune reaction to joint tissue linings. It damages the joints and can even destroy them. Rheumatoid arthritis usually affects the hands, feet, knees, shoulders, and wrists, but it can develop in any joint. There is no cure, but treatment improves signs and symptoms and slows joint damage. Treatment is with drugs that alter the body's immune reactions. Abatacept is a new drug that targets specific components of the immune system. Abatacept inhibits the specific immune cells that cause rheumatoid arthritis and has been shown to improve symptoms in people with rheumatoid arthritis. It has not been directly compared with drugs that are commonly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, such as methotrexate. Read more about this research project … Abatacept for People with Active Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Glucosamine/Chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial (GAIT) Study Results

February 22, 2006

In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the popular dietary supplement combination of glucosamine plus chondroitin sulfate did not provide significant relief from osteoarthritis pain among all participants. However, a smaller subgroup of study participants with moderate-to-severe pain showed significant relief with the combined supplements. Continue reading ... National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) and National Institutes of Health