The human back is a complex structure with bones, nerves, tendons, discs, and more — all places where something can go wrong and cause pain, which, for many people, becomes a long-term or chronic problem. Life stresses and other medical and mental health conditions aggravate the problem. With so many pieces, it’s hard to get a holistic view of the puzzle or pinpoint the cause of the pain. “People tend to focus on one aspect or another,” said Jeffrey Lotz, Ph.D., a medical engineer who studies back pain at the University of California, San Francisco. “Some people think it’s largely

A research team led by Dr. Makarand Risbud of Thomas Jefferson University tested whether treatment with the drugs dasatinib and quercetin would prevent disc degeneration in mice. Both drugs are senolytics, which selectively remove aged cells known as senescent cells.

The FDA approved Olumiant (baricitinib) oral tablets to treat adult patients with severe alopecia areata. The action marks the first FDA approval of a systemic treatment (i.e. treats the entire body rather than a specific location) for alopecia areata.

A researcher from Stanford University asked IRP investigator Michael Ombrello, M.D., to help her team follow a new lead in the mystery of why some patients with a rare inflammatory condition called Still’s disease were coming down with a life-threatening lung ailment.

A conversation between Dr. David R. Wilson, director of the NIH Tribal Health Research Office, and Dr. Lindsey A. Criswell, director of NIAMS, about information and resources for American Indians and Alaska Natives related to bone, muscle, skin, and autoimmune diseases.