While at the 2013 Canadian Rheumatology Association Annual Scientific Meeting, the ABN interviewed rheumatologists with several questions, including about the value they get from attending this conference. Here is what Dr. Kam Shojania, ARC researcher and head of the Division of Rheumatology at the University of British Columbia, had to say.
To view more interviews, please click here.
To find out more about the event, why ABN was there, and our activities, please click here.
The biologic drug tocilizumab (Actemra®) has recently been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The drug helps to treat polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) in adults and now, children age 2 and older.
Research shows that 65 percent of children treated on tocilizumab had a 70 percent improvement. For the placebo group, there was only 30 percent improvement.Tocilizumab works by targetting a protein called interleukin-6 (IL-6). Continue reading
Meet Dr. Lori Tucker. She is a pediatric rheumatologist — a doctor who treats and cares for kids with arthritis — with the British Columbia Children’s Hospital. While at the 2013 Canadian Rheumatology Association Annual Scientific Meeting recently, the Arthritis Broadcast Network (ABN) interviewed her, as well as several other rheumatologists (arthritis specialists). In this video Dr. Tucker speaks about the pharmacist’s role in arthritis healthcare in Canada. Also she talks about the transition from pediatric care to adult care for teens with arthritis.
To view more interviews, please click here.
Dr. Lori Tucker also recently featured in a JointHealth™ web workshop about children and arthritis. Click here to watch it.
As of this month, British Columbian children who live with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) will be able to access tocilizumab (Actemra®) through the province’s public formulary.
This is good news because tocilizumab is the first biological response modifier (“biologic”) that specifically treats sJIA, so kids in BC now have a treatment option where none in this class of medication existed before. Continue reading
Juvenile dermatomyositis (JDMS) is an inflammatory autoimmune disease affecting approximately three in one million children.
Autoimmune diseases generally occur when the body’s immune system begins to malfunction and attack healthy tissue in various parts of the body, causing inflammation and damage. In dermatomyositis, muscle and skin are attacked by inflammation, but the joints, lungs, heart, and intestinal tract can also be affected.
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Do you have juvenile idiopathic arthritis or care for someone who does? We want your valuable input
The Common Drug Review (CDR) is currently welcoming patients and their caregivers to provide input on the manufacturer’s submission for adalimumab (Humira®) for the treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Adalimumab is currently only available to adults with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and psoriatic arthritis on most provincial drug formularies. Until now, the CDR has not reviewed and made any formulary listing recommendations to Canada’s publicly funded drug plans on adalimumab for the treatment of JIA. Continue reading
