Drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb has received the FDA approval for a broader labeling of its rheumatoid arthritis drug, Orencia. Orencia can now also be used to treat patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis of less than or equal to two years duration. Orencia was initially approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis patients who did not respond to other drugs.

A study conducted by a team of Australian researchers indicated that spinal decompression and fusion surgery for degenerative spondylolisthesis is able to generate significant and substantial improvements in health-related quality of life. The improvements are equivalent to the published outcomes of hip and total knee joint replacement. The cost-utility analysis of spine fusion provided excellent outcomes, according to the Australian researchers.

According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, osteoporosis drug denosumab prevented fractures and strengthened bones in men taking hormone therapy for prostate cancer. The study indicated that Denosumab reduced spinal fractures in prostate cancer patients by 62%, as compared to a placebo, and increased spinal bone mineral density.

The Stone Clinic in San Francisco reported it implanted the first commercially available meniscus templates in California this past week, opening up a whole new field of meniscus reconstruction. The implant permits segmental rebuilding of portions damaged or missing meniscus cartilage, the fibrous shock absorber of the knee. To date doctors have only been able to remove, suture repair or replace the whole meniscus with cadaver tissue. There was no method of rebuilding or regenerating missing and torn segments.