Word: chronic
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...Chronic rejection and unrequited love are the twin plinths of Schulz's early life and later work. Even when he had become the one cartoonist known and loved by people around the world, he could still say, with conviction, "My whole life has been one of rejection...
...more than 40 disorders that arise when the immune system launches a sustained attack against the body’s own tissues. Ailments as diverse as psoriasis, multiple sclerosis and Type I diabetes are all caused by an immune system run amok. No one knows what initiates any of these chronic diseases or how they might be cured, but researchers have nonetheless made significant headway in developing new drugs to treat them-drugs that represent the first substantial advancement in the field in 50 years...
...diseases themselves. Steroids, for example-a mainstay of lupus therapy-shut down the immune system and suppress painful inflammation, but can also promote hardening of the arteries, bone loss, psychosis and obesity. Steroids, in fact, are among of the leading causes of death and morbidity for patients with chronic lupus...
Many of the new therapies also happen to be incredibly potent. Last month, for example, pharmaceutical giant Novartis reported spectacular results in a clinical trial of Glivec, a drug that disables a uniquely aberrant protein produced inside cells of chronic myelogenous leukemia, which afflicts 4,400 new patients in the US each year. In the drug’s very first test, every patient went into remission. In the most recent results, 30 percent showed no chromosomal sign of disease and appeared to have been cured. "This drug is amazing," says Richard Stone, an oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute...
...good news, say experts, is that recovery is still possible after multiple relapses, although whether or not serving jail time has a beneficial effect is hotly contested. "Addiction," says Leshner, "is a chronic illness, just like high blood pressure. We can't cure it, but we're getting better at managing it all the time." So while Downey's situation looks very bad at the moment and for the immediate future, it may not be entirely hopeless...