Thursday September 2, 2010
When you're diagnosed with arthritis, you have to learn how to live and cope with chronic illness. You need to learn what to do and what not to do. Not only what to do to keep arthritis under control but how to minimize its negative impact on your life.
At first, you may not know if what you're doing is the best thing. Trust your gut -- but also learn from others who have plenty of experience living with arthritis. We've put together 10 do's and 10 don'ts. Start with those and build your own list too. Here's our list of Arthritis Do's and Don'ts - Practical Advice to Help You Cope.
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Sunday August 29, 2010
People with arthritis sometimes become impatient when their treatment isn't producing results. Especially when it comes to DMARDs (disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs). In a significant number of rheumatoid arthritis patients, 3 months is not long enough to achieve the desired response.
According to the August 2010 Rheumatology News, a review of 51 patients with early rheumatoid arthritis who had been enrolled in the Toronto Early Arthritis Cohort revealed exactly that -- some took longer than others to respond to DMARDs. All of the patients were older than 16 (average age 46) and experienced symptoms that ranged from 6 to 52 weeks. They had at least two swollen joints, or one swollen MCP or PIP joint and at least one of the following rheumatoid arthritis characteristics: positive rheumatoid factor, positive anti-CCP antibodies, morning stiffness longer than 45 minutes, response to NSAIDs, or pain in a metatarsophalangeal joint in a squeeze test.
Of the 51 patients, 27 had low disease activity at 3 months while 24 did not. Also, 17 reached remission after 3 months while 34 did not. When the patients were assessed after 6 months, 15 more had achieved low disease activity, and 15 more had gone into remission.
This shows that it's difficult to precisely determine when a treatment should be stopped because it hasn't produced the desired effect. What you don't want to do is give up too soon.
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Sunday August 29, 2010
People with arthritis often get discouraged and say, "My family doesn't understand", or "My friend doesn't get what it's like for me". Family and friends aren't trying to be difficult or lack compassion. They truly don't understand.
If someone doesn't live with arthritis, it's hard for them to understand exactly what it's like. Remember the famous Elvis Presley lyric? Walk a mile in my shoes, just walk a mile in my shoes.
What do you wish people would understand about arthritis that you think most don't understand? Here's your chance. What Do You Wish People Would Understand About Arthritis?
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Friday August 27, 2010
Scientists believe that production of a protein, known as GM-CSF, may be the reason rheumatoid arthritis appears to protect against the development of Alzheimer's disease. In rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system goes haywire and proteins that attack the body are produced, including GM-CSF. It had been thought that the protective effect was the result of rheumatoid arthritis patients taking NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) but results of a study published in the August 2010 Journal of Alzheimer's Disease point to GM-CSF.
In the study, mice were genetically-altered to have memory problems like those in Alzheimer's disease. Researchers then treated the genetically-altered mice and some of the healthy mice with GM-CSF. Other mice, some healthy and some with Alzheimer's-like symptoms, were given placebo. By the end of the 20-day study, the mice with Alzheimer's symptoms treated with GM-CSF performed better on memory and learning tests than mice not treated with GM-CSF -- similar to the level of mice that were not genetically-altered to have the condition. Genetically-altered mice that received placebo performed poorly on the tests.
Researchers have suggested GM-CSF may draw microglia from the peripheral blood supply into the brain to remove Alzheimer's plaques. GM-CSF-treated Alzheimer's mice had a 50% decrease in beta amyloid -- the substance that forms Alzheimer's plaques.
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