Kawasaki Disease Is One of Over 100 Types of Arthritis
Thursday January 8, 2009
The tragic death of
Jett Travolta, son of John Travolta and Kelly Preston, has brought a lot of attention to a little known disease --
Kawasaki Disease. Did you know Kawasaki Disease is recognized as one of
over 100 types of arthritis, according to the Arthritis Foundation? Kawasaki Disease is a form of systemic
vasculitis that develops in young children -- 80% of Kawasaki patients are under 5 years old.
Kawasaki disease may be associated with the development of coronary arteritis (inflammation of the coronary arteries) and the formation of aneurysms. In the United States, Kawasaki disease is considered the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children. Learn more about the symptoms, cause, prevalence, and treatment of Kawasaki Disease in Kawasaki Disease - Fast Facts.
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Pain Scales Help Arthritis Patients Rate Their Level of Pain
Tuesday January 6, 2009
Pain scales help arthritis patients rate their level of pain so it can be communicated to their doctor, other health professionals, or even family. It's a self-reported pain level so many patients are leery about its "accuracy." Some patients will say "What does a 4 feel like?" or express uncertainty about the whole pain scale concept. It's a somewhat valid point. What I might call a 7, you might say is a 3. The value still comes in comparing your ratings. If you say this week your pain is a 4 and next week you say your pain is a 6, that shows worsening of
arthritis symptoms.
Go to our forum and comment on your experience with pain scales. Does your doctor use one? Are you uneasy about rating your pain or do you understand the value of using pain scales? There are different types of pain scales -- verbal, numerical, and visual pain scales. Let's see how they are similar and how they are different in Pain Scales Help Arthritis Patients Rate Their Level of Pain.
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Sunday January 4, 2009
Many patients are prescribed
low-dose aspirin as a cardioprotective treatment but they are already taking an
NSAID (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug) to treat arthritis. Is it safe to take both? Is there any action that should be taken -- such as not taking them together to ensure safe use? Should lab tests be routinely performed to monitor the kidneys or liver? Or, is it a perfectly safe combination -- low-dose aspirin and NSAIDs -- and no worries?
According to rheumatologist Scott J. Zashin, MD, there are two potential drug interactions between aspirin and NSAIDs. Both can increase the risk of bleeding, including bleeding ulcers -- a potential life-threatening complication. The complication is more likely to occur in patients who have other risk factors for ulcers as well. Learn more about decreasing the risks associated with low-dose aspirin and NSAIDs and about other treatment options too in Low-Dose Aspirin and NSAIDs - A Safe Combination for Arthritis Patients?
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Self-attacking Immune Cells Turned Off in Healthy People; Turned On in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Friday January 2, 2009
Rheumatoid arthritis and
lupus are
autoimmune diseases -- conditions associated with self-attacking immune cells. According to a report in the December 22, 2008 edition of
Journal of Experimental Medicine, healthy people also have the cells but they are kept in an "off state". Why are the cells kept off in some people and turned on in others?
Here's what researchers believe happens. Antibody-producing B cells develop in the bone marrow. The body tests the cells to determine if their antigen receptors might confuse self tissues for foreign invaders. If confusion might occur a process called "receptor editing" occurs whereby receptors are rearranged to produce non-autoreactive versions or they are just killed off in the bone marrow.
But a small number slip out of the bone marrow into the body as mature B cells and they may play a role in the self attack. In mice, researchers found that escaped cells were stopped in an inactive state. In humans, researchers believe the escaped cells may not cause problems in healthy people but may be the precursors for self-attacking B cells in people with autoimmune diseases -- possibly because they cannot maintain the inactive status.
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