Health Expert Mark Borigini, M.D. shares health management news and commentary at HealthCentral.com. HealthCentral.com is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/53/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/53/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/53/index http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/53/112518/options Tue, 25 May 2010 17:45:00 -0400 Mark Borigini, M.D. There is no cure for rheumatoid arthritis, this almost goes without saying.  However, there are a variety of medications which not only provide relief from pain and inflammation, but which also have the potential to put the disease into remission.  And this should be the goal of every rheumatologist and every patient with rheumatoid arthritis:  Remission, causing the rheumatoid arthritis to be inactive.  Rheumatoid arthritis... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/53/112518/options http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/53/112480/severe Tue, 25 May 2010 11:04:00 -0400 Mark Borigini, M.D. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic illness, which in the worst case is a progressive disease, and can have a profound effect on the general physical and mental well-being of patients.  The assessment of the severity of rheumatoid arthritis is very important in terms of monitoring the course of the disease and measuring the effectiveness of treatment.   Assessing Severity There have been many proposals as to how to assess... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/53/112480/severe http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/53/112479/switch Tue, 25 May 2010 10:49:00 -0400 Mark Borigini, M.D. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disorder that has no cure.  It is an autoimmune disorder, in which the patient’s own immune system attacks its own tissues.  The goal is to quiet this attack, and put a halt to the inflammation.The approach to rheumatoid arthritis in this country is to begin a patient on a so-called DMARD (disease-modifying antirheumatic drug).  If a patient has mild disease, then sulfasalazine... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/53/112479/switch http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/53/110329/introd Tue, 27 Apr 2010 18:18:00 -0400 Mark Borigini, M.D. Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), which used to be known as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), recently underwent a name change to highlight the differences between childhood arthritis and adult rheumatoid arthritis.  But no matter what one might choose to call it, it is the most common type of arthritis in children under the age of 16 years, and can be very hard to live with, for the child and teen and their families.As with adult... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/53/110329/introd http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/53/93348/update Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:20:00 -0500 Mark Borigini, M.D. American College of Rheumatology (ACR) National Meeting, 2009:  Update on Novel Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatments   A year ago I discussed the Janus Kinases (JAKs), a family of enzymes discovered in 1988.  Some of these enzymes located in cells can play a role in the control of biochemicals which are involved with diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis.    JAK inhibitors continue to draw much attention from... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/53/93348/update http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/53/87206/means Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:59:00 -0400 Mark Borigini, M.D. Those of us who remember those days when the only treatment for rheumatoid arthritis was aspirin and hot paraffin, also remember that to speak of remission was considered by many an audacious act.   However, in the past twenty years, two breakthroughs allowed for improvement in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis:  The development of measures of response for rheumatoid arthritis, accepted by regulatory agencies such as... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/53/87206/means http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/53/85228/immune Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:39:00 -0400 Mark Borigini, M.D. Many medications prescribed for rheumatoid arthritis can weaken the immune system, including prednisone, methotrexate, and, of course, the biologic agents such as Humira, Enbrel and Remicade, to name but a few.  The use of these medications can make a patient more susceptible to the H1N1 virus (the so-called swine flu) and the regular seasonal influenza.  And if a patient on an immunosuppressive drug does contract such a viral illness,... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/53/85228/immune http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/53/55491/double Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:52:00 -0400 Mark Borigini, M.D. While the past decade has seen great advances in the understanding and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, there are still segments of the rheumatoid arthritis population that have not been able to even try many newer treatments due to the presence of other illnesses. Such patients must deal with more than one potentially life-shortening illness, and the realization that they are unable to reap the benefits of available treatments. One such... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/53/55491/double http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/53/55492/disease Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:57:00 -0500 Mark Borigini, M.D. I have discussed here more than once the increased risk of death in rheumatoid arthritis patients when compared to healthy individuals. Interestingly, one-third to one-half of premature deaths in rheumatoid arthritis is due to cardiovascular disease; and it appears that inflammation plays a large role in the hardening of the arteries seen in atherosclerosis. A good sense of the magnitude of the role of cardiovascular disease in rheumatoid... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/53/55492/disease http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/53/52121/superior Wed, 31 Dec 2008 13:17:00 -0500 Mark Borigini, M.D. While the traditional x-ray is still the radiologic tool most used by rheumatologists to diagnose rheumatoid arthritis, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has slowly but surely developed a following among some rheumatologists. This is because MRI studies can show much more detail than the plain x-ray.   The question, however, remains to be answered: Does the use of MRI change how a rheumatologist treats his patients, the ultimate goal... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/53/52121/superior