View from ACR: Luring Doctors With Tastykakes

By Charlene Laino
WebMD Guest Blogger

Oct. 23, 2009 -- (Philadelphia) -- It’s been a busy couple of months since Labor Day. Medical meetings are in full swing, sending me chasing infectious disease specialists in San Francisco, tracking down cancer docs in Berlin, running after neurologists in Baltimore, and ending up this week, here in Philly, immersed in the latest news in arthritis, lupus and gout at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology(ACR).

I can’t stress the importance of covering medical meetings enough. Whether it’s the premier cancer meeting in Europe or ACR here at home, conferences are considered the forums to unveil new research. They are where we first hear about breakthroughs that will transform practice and, more often, about new drugs and tests that show promise. And we hear about some unique studies along the way.

At ACR, for example, there was new research, spearheaded by an elementary school student, suggesting that video games may be causing finger and wrist pain in children, and the younger the player, the greater the risk. You can’t beat this advice from the study’s leader, 11-year-old Deniz Ince: “If you’re over 7, don’t play more than an hour a day. If you’re younger than 7, give it a break until you’re older.” Indeed.

Then there are studies suggesting that milk and water may help fight painful gout attacks. When I first saw the titles, I thought, how did they even come up with the idea of studying that? Turns out there’s a scientific rationale: Dehydration is a trigger for the disease.

Lupus Drug Takes Center Stage

Another reason to attend: The written abstracts that researchers submit months before their actual presentations are often out-of-date, and sometimes downright wrong. Further analysis in the weeks leading up to these disease marathons can dilute the strength of an association that seemed so powerful based on the preliminary data. You have to be here to hear the final results and talk with other specialists about their importance.

Meetings are also where I make contacts with leaders in the field, who help me sort through the hundreds of new drugs with names like ABC123 that hold so much promise, based on early studies. Which ones are going to live up to that promise and which will die in the lab, a blip on the screen, here today, gone tomorrow? If we told you about all of those, your head would burst.

At this year’s ACR meeting, the spotlight shined on Benlysta, the first in a new class of experimental drugs that dials down the abnormal immune response that wreaks havoc on lupus patients’ joints and organs. It outperformed standard treatment in a large clinical trial, and if the findings hold up, Benlysta will become the first new drug for lupus in half a century. Everyone I spoke to said to stay tuned.

There was also a great deal of enthusiasm for a large, head-to-head study showing that for many people with rheumatoid arthritis, the traditional, and much cheaper, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs appear to work just as well as newer TNF blockers that target the underlying disease process. Importantly, the trial also suggested that for many patients, methotrexate alone may do the trick, at least for a while. A footnote echoed by all, however: The findings are based on symptoms. X-ray images, taken during the study but not available yet, may show one strategy is better at halting disease progression.

Speaking of TNF blockers, other new research links the immune-disease drugs to an increased risk of skin cancer. But please, do not read this and panic if you are on the drugs: For most, the benefits far outweigh the risks. Do, however, check your body regularly for any abnormal growths that can signal skin cancer.

While you’re in front of the bathroom mirror, checking your back for moles, why not multitask and brush and floss? A new study shows gum disease may raise your risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Now, there’s a simple intervention to modify your risk of a disabling disease.

Actually, here’s another. Other research shows spraying your home and garden with insecticides may increase the risk of both RA and lupus. Maybe you’ll think twice next time you see a bug? They’re not that bad.

Attracting Doctors With … Tastykakes?

There was some disappointing news this year, too. Using a more sensitive measure of joint damage than in the past, researchers have found that the popular supplement glucosamine does not appear to slow the progression of knee osteoarthritis.

Maybe you’d be better off exercising and eating a healthy diet than spending money on supplements? That’s my personal view, one I must admit many of my friends take issue with. But this brings me to my latest concern: I’m a little worried we are going to end up with a nation of overweight doctors, at risk for everything from arthritis to heart disease.

Why? For years, in the enormous exhibits areas at every meeting, doctors stuffed their conference bags with “gifts” from pharmaceuticals companies -- everything from personalized ballpoint pens to the latest computer gadgets, all emblazoned with the company’s logo.

Rules that went into effect in the U.S. earlier this year frown upon inscribed giveaways. So how are the companies attracting doctors to their booths to hear about -- and hopefully then prescribe -- their drugs and diagnostics? With food, usually junk food no less. I kid you not. One booth had soft pretzels with mustard, another homemade chocolate cake. I’ve even had crepes, cooked to order. There are always cookies, candies, colas, and coffees. Philly’s hometown treat, Tastykakes, were a big hit at ACR. Talk about empty, but devilishly fun, calories.

More than one attendee admitted having to let his belt out a notch by the end of the week. I just hope they go home and work it off.

I know I have to.