Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.)
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Arthritis Rheumatol · Jun 2015
Coverage for high-cost specialty drugs for rheumatoid arthritis in Medicare Part D.
More than 1 in 4 Medicare beneficiaries with rheumatoid arthritis use high-cost biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), and spending for these drugs has risen sharply for Medicare Part D. Our aim was to conduct the first systematic, national investigation of how Part D plans cover biologic DMARDs and to determine patients' financial burden under current cost-sharing structures. ⋯ Nationally, nearly all Part D plans cover at least 1 biologic DMARD, but the vast majority require cost sharing sufficiently high to risk significant financial burden to patients.
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Arthritis Rheumatol · Jun 2015
Cartilage T1ρ and T2 Relaxation Times in Patients With Mild-to-Moderate Radiographic Hip Osteoarthritis.
To analyze region-specific T1ρ and T2 relaxation times of the hip joint cartilage in relation to presence or absence of radiographic hip osteoarthritis (OA) and presence or absence of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-detected cartilage defects. ⋯ T1ρ and T2 relaxation parameters are sensitive to the presence of cartilage degeneration. Both parameters may therefore support MRI evidence of cartilage defects of the hip.