Word: lindagail
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...killer was on the loose, and it had Lindagail Dixon, 42, of Spokane, Washington, squarely in its sights. It was her own immune system, which had gone berserk, attacking the joints in her body and crippling her so badly that she often had to use a wheelchair. Left unchecked, Dixon's disorder, rheumatoid arthritis, might have shortened her life 10 to 15 years. But last summer her doctor placed her on experimental therapy that actually wrestled her rogue immune system back into line. "I can go jogging again. I can work 10 to 12 hours on my feet," says...
...better to focus on the compounds that actually do the damage: the killer proteins produced by the macrophages. These proteins attack the cartilage and cause inflammation. One company, Immunex of Seattle, has focused on one such protein, called tumor necrosis factor. Immunex's treatment, which worked so effectively for Lindagail Dixon, consists of genetically engineered proteins that sop up excess tnf, interrupting the cycle of destruction. A third tactic, being developed by Amgen of Thousand Oaks, California, targets another inflammatory protein, interleukin-1, in much the same way. If approved by the FDA, all three drugs could...
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