Word: rheumatoid
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...errors of the immune system involves its failure to distinguish between self and nonself, resulting in so-called autoimmune diseases, which can be crippling and sometimes fatal. Dozens of disorders that once mystified doctors are now thought to be autoimmune. Among them: Type 1 diabetes, myasthenia gravis, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. In these and other autoimmune diseases, the immune system mounts a selective and ferocious assault against parts of the body, destroying cells or cell components that it mistakenly identifies as alien...
...spite of prevailing theory, Tonegawa found that the "cars" did indeed rearrange themselves in a multitude of different configurations to make the antibodies that fight off diseases. His work has led to discoveries of how some cancers form and could help in understanding such immune disorders as AIDS or rheumatoid arthritis. To appreciate why the immune system goes wrong, notes Tonegawa, researchers must first understand what happens when it is going right...
Call it the Great Impostor. Like rheumatoid arthritis, it painfully inflames knees and ankles. Sometimes it masquerades as heart disease, provoking arrhythmias so severe that a pacemaker may be required. It can strike the brain, inciting blinding headaches, memory lapses and even chronic depression. Muscular coordination can become so shaky that doctors suspect multiple sclerosis. Walt Dabney, 41, of Herndon, Va., suffered for more than two years with many of these symptoms and ran up $4,000 in medical bills before his problem was correctly diagnosed: he had Lyme disease, a bacterial infection spread by ticks. Says Dabney, chief ranger...
Nonetheless, satisfied users abound. Nancy Wallrich, 56, a homemaker in Santa Fe Springs, Calif., who has had rheumatoid arthritis for 30 years, says her water bed has brought her uninterrupted sleep. It has also improved her sex life. "For me, many positions and movements had become difficult," she observes. "Now I am able to move around more." That sounds a lot like what water beds were famous for way back when...
...third study held implications not only for heart disease but possibly for such ailments as rheumatoid arthritis and asthma. The research, conducted by Harvard scientists, indicated that a fish diet may slow the process of inflammation by altering the chemistry of white blood cells. Preliminary evidence both in animals and humans suggests that such a diet may help relieve symptoms of arthritis and perhaps other inflammatory diseases. However, says Dr. K. Frank Austen of Harvard, it is too early to make any recommendations, and fish-oil experts sound a special note of caution on cod-liver oil, which...