Author: Lance Garrison

When you start taking a biologic drug for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), time matters.First, it’s important to start treatment as soon as you can to lower your risk of joint damage and deformity. Second, you need to give your biologic enough time to work. You may not see results right away. But that doesn’t mean it’s not working.Biologics, which are a type of disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD), interfere with the underlying disease process of RA. They target different parts of your immune system to stop the series of events that lead to inflammation and joint destruction.In time, you may have less…

When you have rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and take a biologic, the best source of daily-life advice, coping tips, and comfort may be people who are in the same boat.People with RA say they like to connect with other patients in online support groups to share frank talk about daily life with their disease, including how they manage their medications. But some point out that it’s important not to use these groups as a source of medical information.”Connecting with other RA patients can give you emotional support and a feeling of empowerment, too. It breeds a sense of camaraderie among all…

Biologic drugs can be joint savers for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). But even these powerful medications don’t always guarantee relief from pain and stiffness.Sometimes the first biologic you try doesn’t work for you. Or a drug might control your RA for a while, only to stop working. It’s hard to predict whether one of these drugs will be a hit or a miss.”We have a lot of really great medications that work very well” against rheumatoid arthritis, says Rebecca Haberman, MD, a rheumatologist at NYU Langone Health. “But the thing we’re missing is knowing which medication is best for which patient…

If baby burp cloths are in heavy rotation at your house, you might wonder whether all’s well in your baby’s GI tract. But spitting up, also called gastroesophageal reflux (GER), is a typical part of babyhood. If your infant is eating well, growing, and not in pain, there’s no reason to worry about it.“Stomach content coming back up into the esophagus is a normal physiologic process in everyone — even adults — that happens multiple times per day,” says Andrew Singer, MD, assistant clinical professor of pediatric gastroenterology at University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. DID YOU KNOW?…

Take a drive around certain neighborhoods in Los Angeles and you may spot as many signs advertising body scans as burger joints. Or maybe you’ve seen the ads on TV or the internet: “Protect your health! Get a body scan now!” Are whole-body CT scans really able to do that – and what are the risks? And are DEXA scans a good way to check on your body composition?While technologies vary, most of these high-tech checkups use computed tomography (CT) scans to examine your entire body or specific parts, such as the heart and lungs, to try to catch dangerous diseases in earlier, more…

It’s 2 a.m. Your baby is crying and you can’t soothe them. They have a fever and a stuffed nose. Do you call the pediatrician, or do you wait until morning?New parenthood is full of uncertainty. When you’re a first-time parent, it’s easy to second-guess every decision you make.”It can be hard sometimes to know when or when not to call,” says Katie Lockwood, MD, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “I reassure parents to follow their instincts. If something doesn’t feel right or if they’re not sure if something is normal or not, pediatrician offices would rather you err…

Iran’s missile and drone attack on Israel over the weekend was a game-changing escalation that requires some game-changing rethinking on the part of Israel and its most important ally, the United States. I call it “the three-state solution.”It begins with the recognition that there is probably zero hope for any resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the Israel-Iran conflict without leadership change in Tehran, Jerusalem and Ramallah.Starting with Tehran: I don’t favor any Western attempt to topple the Islamic Republic of Iran from outside, but I pray that one day the Iranian people will do so from inside.“This region won’t…

Biologics treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by targeting parts of your immune system that fuel inflammation. These drugs work very well to slow RA and relieve pain, swelling, and other symptoms. So why quit a good thing? There are a few reasons why you might need to stop taking a biologic.For one thing, the drug you’re on might not help your symptoms. Side effects are another reason to stop these drugs.”There is an increased risk of infection, and sometimes the infection is so severe that the biologic must be stopped, at least temporarily,” says Nilasha Ghosh, MD, a rheumatologist at the…

Most people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) start their treatment with conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, or DMARDs. But if these drugs don’t work well enough to reduce inflammation and pain in your joints, your doctor may recommend biologic DMARDs.Biologic drugs are proteins that are genetically engineered in a lab to target parts of your immune system that cause inflammation. You get them by shot or IV.Because they’re harder to make than conventional DMARDs, biologics cost more — a lot more. How much depends on the medication. But the cost can range from $1,300-$3,000 a month to $5,000 per week, before insurance.That…

April 16, 2024 — Toniya Farmer was driving on an Atlanta interstate when severe chest pains started. She called 911, had pain and difficulty breathing and believed she was in imminent danger. When she made it to a local emergency room, she said that she was having a heart attack. Yet none of the hospital staff responded until a man in the waiting room asked aloud if anyone had heard her. “I guess that I looked too young to be having a heart attack,” said Farmer. Her story highlights the larger issue of gender differences in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac disease.…