A new practice guideline aims to help clinicians navigate an increasingly crowded field of over-the-counter and prescription treatment options for chronic idiopathic constipation in otherwise healthy people. The guideline, published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, was jointly developed by the American Gastroenterological Association and the American College of Gastroenterology. It marks the first AGA update on chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC), also called functional constipation, in a decade. In an interview, guideline lead author Lin Chang, MD, of the University of California, Los Angeles, noted that CIC is defined as…
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Why not both? Biological doubles for RA and PsA
The introduction of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors in the late 1990s revolutionized the treatment of rheumatic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA), providing patients with another therapeutic option when conventional therapies were ineffective. However, when these diseases fail to respond to anti-TNF therapy, it is still difficult to determine the next best course of action. Dr Christopher Ritchlin “One of the big challenges we have in treating psoriatic arthritis, and I would say rheumatoid arthritis was fine, is how to manage patients who have failed…
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