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New safety and efficacy data for active ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients treated with ENBREL(R) (etanercept) were presented at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Scientific Meeting, 24-29 October, in San Francisco, CA: (1),(2) - As discussed in an oral pr

Pfizer will present data on three investigational compounds that represent potential new mechanisms for targeting pain and inflammation. These data will highlight tanezumab, a molecule designed to target nerve growth factor, a key pain mediator; CP-690,550, a JAK-inhibitor that suppresses immune-related inflammatory response; and esreboxetine, a highly-selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor which plays a role in controlling the activity of this important neurotransmitter.

HealthDay - MONDAY, Oct. 27 (HealthDay News) -- The number of American women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is growing again after four decades of decline, according to a Mayo Clinic study.

Reuters - Rheumatoid arthritis appears to be on the rise among U.S. women after four decades of retreat while remaining stable among men, researchers said on Saturday.

HealthDay - MONDAY, Oct. 27 (HealthDay News) -- people newly diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis face twice the risk of a heart attack, and those who do suffer a heart attack tend to have more heart-related complications, new research says.

Age, sex and traditional risk factors - such as hypertension, diabetes, smoking, and body mass - are more important predictors of heart attack in patients with rheumatoid arthritis than the use of certain medications that have been considered the link between the two and lipid-lowering medications may actually reduce this risk, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in San Francisco, Calif.

Scientists presenting findings of their research at a conference in the United States at the weekend said they found evidence that after four decades of decline, rheumatoid arthritis was on the rise among American women.

Reuters - Babies with serious infections during their first year of life appear more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis at an early age, Swedish researchers said on Tuesday.

Data from two Phase III studies showed that patients who suffer from the debilitating and painful effects of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) achieved significant improvements in signs and symptoms when treated with ACTEMRA (tocilizumab) alone or in combination with methotrexate compared with methotrexate alone. read more

A new approach to treating gout -- a debilitating form of arthritis -- can normalize levels of uric acid in the blood within hours in patients who have failed to respond to any other treatments, and in some patients, eliminate the painful, needle-like crystals of uric acid that clump around fingers, toes and other joints. Details of the use of the drug, pegloticase, among 212 patients with severe gout enrolled in two, phase III clinical trials, were released today at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology. read more