RESEARCH - Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphism in RA and associated osteoporosis

May 4, 2006

I sent this letter earlier but it was returned to I'm just attaching to this

one - I hope that's alright........

Hi Sandy -

I made a typo of sorts in the very beginning of my post - It's an obvious

one but could be confusing!

I said your insurance is only paying for, at best, 25% of your insurance. "

Of course, I meant to say 25% of your " prescription " .

I'll try to explain better --I'm assuming from your post that you do have

insurance to cover part of the cost of Humira - and that the doctor gave you

cards that would cover what your insurance didn't pay and now the doctor

isn't giving the cards anymore. And I'm assuming your insurance is still

paying whatever percentage they were paying.

Well, if you're part of the cost (that the cards used to cover) is $2500 a

month than your insurance isn't paying hardly anything or just a very small

percentage. Because you can go out and buy Humira with no insurance for just

about what you're paying out of pocket.

My insurance (I have save-r-x prescription coverage for meds) covers a

substantial amount of my prescription costs and they always list what it

would have cost without the coverage I have and they list a 3 month supply

as costing $8,000. That is approax $2650 a month if you break it down. So,

they're saying that if I didn't have insurance the Humira would cost me

$2650 a month.

If you're paying $2500 out of pocket for Humira than your insurance is

paying only approx $150 of the cost.

I think something is wrong with that picture. I've never heard of

prescription coverage only paying about 7% of the cost of meds.

Additionally - I just called my local pharmacy (although I get my 3 month

supplys through save-r-x) and asked what it would cost for a 1 month supply

if I were paying for it and his price was $2890. That's close to the price I

got from my insurance. So I would think it's safe to assume the actual cost

of Humira is somewhere between $2600 and $2900.

I hope I've explained a little better and not confused you more --

IAN

[ ] RESEARCH - Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphism in RA

and associated osteoporosis

Rheumatol Int. 2006 Jan 31;:1-8 [Epub ahead of print]

Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphism in rheumatoid arthritis and associated

osteoporosis.

Rass P, Pakozdi A, Lakatos P, Zilahi E, Sipka S, Szegedi G, Szekanecz Z.

Division of Rheumatology, Third Department of Medicine, University of

Debrecen Medical and Health Science Center, 22 Moricz street, 4004,

Debrecen, Hungary, szekanecz@....

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is commonly associated with decreased bone mineral

density (BMD) due to numerous factors. BsmI polymorphism of the vitamin D

receptor (VDR) gene has been implicated in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis.

Vitamin D has several immunomodulatory effects and thus may play a role in

the course of arthritis. However, little data is available on the possible

relationship between RA and VDR gene polymorphisms. In this study, the

frequency of BsmI polymorphism genotypes were compared with that found in

other countries. In this study, 64 RA patients and 40 healthy controls were

tested for VDR gene BsmI polymorphism genotypes. Frequencies of B and b

alleles were associated with markers of bone metabolism and RA. Among

control subjects, the frequency of the BB genotype is relatively high

(27.5%). In RA with secondary osteopenia/osteoporosis the BB genotype was

more rare, the bb was more common than in control subjects. Markers of bone

metabolism were associated with the B allele. RA patients carrying the B

allele had lower BMD and increased bone loss over 1 year. The B allele was

also correlated with increased osteoclast and osteoblast function, as

determined by the assessment of biochemical markers of bone metabolism.

Rheumatoid factor titer, which is an independent marker for disease

progression in RA, was higher in bb patients. Our data suggest, that the

imbalance in B and b allele expression may be involved in the pathogenesis

of RA-associated osteoporosis. The possible involvement of vitamin D and VDR

gene polymorphisms in the development and progression of RA needs further

elucidation.

PMID: 16447061

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=pubmed & dopt=Abstra\

ct & list_uids=1644706

Not an MD

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org

October 27, 2006

Rheumatol Int. 2006 Sep;26(11):964-71. Epub 2006 Jan 31.