ADELPHI, Md. (MedPage Today) -- An FDA advisory committee voted 25-10 to reject the agency's proposed plan to prevent inappropriate prescribing, misuse, and abuse of extended-release opioid painkillers, saying the plan lacks the teeth to stem the "public health crisis" of opioid addiction, overdose, and death.

(MedPage Today) -- Older patients with inflammatory arthritis are not receiving the full range of age-related preventive care they need, despite their being at increased risk for cardiovascular events, infection, and osteoporosis, a new study found.

(MedPage Today) -- A total joint replacement registry begun in California in 2001 has enhanced patient safety and quality of care by tracking implant performance and outcomes, according to a new report.

WASHINGTON (MedPage Today) -- An FDA advisory panel will meet this week to vote on whether to adopt a new risk-reduction strategy for long-acting opioid-based painkillers, the use -- and misuse -- of which have exploded in recent years.

(MedPage Today) -- Obesity in early adulthood is an independent risk factor for the development of psoriatic arthritis, a large case series found.

(MedPage Today) -- Varicella vaccine appears to be safe and relatively immunogenic for use in children with rheumatic diseases being treated with immunosuppressive drugs, a small prospective study has found.

(MedPage Today) -- New Canadian recommendations on the use of methotrexate in rheumatoid arthritis focus on routine clinical practice concerns -- ranging from drug interactions to clinical response and patient participation in therapeutic decision-making.

(MedPage Today) -- Treatment with adalimumab was effective for both joint and skin manifestations of psoriatic arthritis in patients whose disease had not responded adequately to prior therapy, a multicenter open-label study found.

(MedPage Today) -- Certain clinical features such as polyarthritis and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate lessen the likelihood that patients with psoriatic arthritis will achieve sustained minimal disease activity, an observational cohort study suggested.

(MedPage Today) -- For cancer patients, regular telemonitoring with a nurse-physician team, along with home symptom monitoring, can cut pain and depression, researchers say.

WASHINGTON (MedPage Today) -- The FDA has expanded the black box warning to the label of the rheumatoid arthritis drug leflunomide (Arava) to include possible fatal liver damage.

Vioxx found to double the risk of developing a cardiovascular "event" when compared to placebo.