The right vaccine dose and more in this week's news roundup

Probiotics Protect Against Lumbar Spine Bone Loss in Early Menopause:  Probiotic supplementation using a mix of three Lactobacillus strains naturally occurring in the human gut microbiota protects against lumbar spine bone loss in healthy, early postmenopausal women, say researchers recently writing in The Lancet Rheumatology. _{^{(©TefiShutterstock.com), (©JavierRegueiroShutterstock.com)}}

Apremilast Reduces Oral Ulcers in Behçet’s Syndrome:  Apremilast (Otezla, Celgene) resulted in a greater reduction in the number of oral ulcers associated with Behçet’s syndrome than placebo, say researchers recently writing in the New England Journal of Medicine. _{^{(©Leungchopan,AdobeStock)}}

Lupus Trial for Anifrolumab Gets a Second Look: Anifrolumab, a potential new treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), was given a second look in a clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine this month. This time, the results look promising. Learn more about the trial in this slideshow. _{^{(©MedicalIllustrations.com)}}

Motion Tests Essential for an Osteoarthritis Diagnosis:  Simple hip motion tests and observing for pain during that motion were helpful in identifying patients most likely to have hip osteoarthritis on plain radiography, say researchers recently writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association. _{^{(©AdobeStock_GlisicAlbina)}}

Anifrolumab Shows Efficiency in Systemic Lupus:  In patients with moderate to severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), anifrolumab (AstraZeneca) was superior to placebo for improving overall disease activity, skin disease and oral corticosteroid tapering, say researchers writing in the New England Journal of Medicine. _{^{(©ArtemidaPsy,Shutterstock.com)}}

Hidradenitis Suppurativa May Precede Inflammatory Arthritis: A diagnosis of hidradenitis suppurativa may precede the development of ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis or rheumatoid arthritis in patients, say researchers writing in the January 22 issue of JAMA Dermatology. Hidradenitis Suppurativa (©Designer491_AdobeStock).jpeg

9 Key Facts About CVD in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Rheumatoid arthritis patients have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, yet rheumatologists and primary care physicians who treat RA patients sometimes miss the signs and symptoms of CVD in their patients. Learn more in this slideshow. _{^{(©Valentina, AdobeStock_277007982), (©RocketClips,AdobeStock_247428413), (©FreshIdea,AdobeStock_297031798)}}

Placebo Effect at Work in RA Treatments:  The placebo response in clinical trials for rheumatoid arthritis appears to have grown over the last two decades with patients exhibiting significant improvements in pain scores with placebo treatment. _{^{(©BillionPhotosAdobeStock_266957677)}}