I heard there was a program on the learning change about sjogren's syndrome. I would love to see it. Is it playing again? I have Comcast for my cable. Please advise.

Hi,

Does rheumatoid arthritis lead to bone fusion?

Thank,
Ang

FRIDAY, Aug. 22 (HealthDay News) -- New details about how rheumatoid arthritis destroys bone have been uncovered by University of Rochester Medical Center researchers, who said their findings are already helping efforts to create new drugs to reverse the process.

Rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that affects about two million Americans, causes swelling, pain and deformity in joints and also thins bone.

I have recently been diagnosed with RA and am on some heavy duty drugs. I would like feedback from other ra patients. Are these drugs safe long term? What is your cancer risk? life expentancy? I am 63. Will this disease progress more rapidly because of my age. I am going to a good facility (I hope) but my doctor does not really have a lot of time to discuss anything with me. He seems to be good medically. There is
very little support for this disease. Maybe I am overacting to the severity of it. What are the bes facilities for this disease? Any support would be appreciated.

Hello, my name is Mary. I am 59 and have had RA since I was in my early 30s. I do enjoy listening to other patients out there whom share the same dibiliating disease,and getting their stories and inputs on treatments. I am glad I stumbled upon this website, I think its a great place to share information and have someone out there to listen when you want to talk. I look forward to sharing and helping others if I can.

WEDNESDAY, July 16 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis benefited from combining the drugs methotrexate and Enbrel (etanercept), new research found.

The combination improved both remission and radiographic non-progression rates within one year compared with the standard treatment of methotrexate alone.

Patients on this regimen were also more likely to stay employed, according to a study in the current issue of The Lancet. The study was funded by Wyeth, the maker of Enbrel.

MONDAY, June 30 (HealthDay News) -- The risk of rheumatoid arthritis is twice as high in women who had a heavy birth weight (more than 10 pounds) than those with an average birth weight (7 to 8.5 lbs), a new study finds.

Researchers at the Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City, analyzed data from more than 87,000 women who took part in the U.S. Nurses' Health Study between 1976 and 2002. The women were aged 30 to 55 at the start of the study.

THURSDAY, June 26 (HealthDay News) -- New recommendations for the use of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been developed by the American College of Rheumatology.

Clinical Trials Update: June 25, 2008

(HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of CenterWatch:

Interstitial Cystitis

If you are 18 or older, and have had moderate-to-severe pain, pressure or discomfort due to painful bladder syndrome for at least six months, you may qualify for this study.

The research site is in Mountlake Terrace, Wash.

More information

Please see http://www.centerwatch.com/patient/studi....

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Vaccines

If you are 68 or older and had a pneumonia vaccine at least three years ago, you may qualify for this study.

I have arthritis associated with lupus, and also rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. So, I'm accustomed to dealing with a variety of aches and pains due to these conditions. I'm currently on contract at a State agency and read a wonderful story in this week's newsletter about the agency's Arthritis Program Coordinator.