Stem Cell-Based Therapies & RA

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Autoimmune Diseases and the Promise of Stem Cell-Based Therapies

One of the more perplexing questions in biomedical research is—why does the body’s protective shield against infections, the immune system, attack its own vital cells, organs, and tissues? The answer to this question is central to understanding an array of autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, systemic lupus erythematosus, and Sjogren’s syndrome. When some of the body’s cellular proteins are recognized as “foreign” by immune cells called T lymphocytes, a destructive cascade of inflammation is set in place. Current therapies to combat these cases of cellular mistaken identity dampen the body’s immune response and leave patients vulnerable to life-threatening infections. Research on stem cells is now providing new approaches to strategically remove the misguided immune cells and restore normal immune cells to the body. Presented here are some of the basic research investigations that are being guided by adult and embryonic stem cell discoveries.

Read More: http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/scireport/chapter6.asp.

(Hat tip to magda92122 for sharing this link!)

Rob Moore has generously offered to field any questions on this topic at the new Stem Cell-Based Therapies Info Sheet in the RA Information Library.

Rob is 40 years old, and has had RA for 16 years. His joint replacements include: bilateral knee replacements, right wrist replacement and left elbow replacement. Rob also has rheumatoid vasculitis, and has be on disability since January 2009 (he previously worked with computers). He is a father of three, and has been married for 15 years. Rob has tried every medicine there is, and underwent a stem cell transplant in 2007 at Northwestern Hospital.

Thank you for your support, Rob! I look forward to learning more about this topic.

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Arthritis Foundation WPA

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If you are not already familiar with all of the great resources that are coming out of the Western Pennsylvania Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation (AFWPA), be sure to take a look!

Arthritis Radio

Arthritis Radio
Just last night I caught up with the first three episodes – I am subscribed through iTunes, so it updates automatically. The first few episodes have been wonderfully informative, and run between 20-30 minutes. A new espisode was just released today!

Arthritis Foundation WPA Blog
I read this blog regularly – it continually has many great posts on different topics related to rheumatoid arthritis.

AFWPA Twitter
With frequent updates and lots of links to issues related to rheumatoid arthritis, this twitter account is a great resource.

More Information: http://www.arthritis.org/chapters/western-pennsylvania/

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Access To Affordable Drugs

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New Legislation Introduced in the Senate

The Arthritis Foundation is pleased that Senator Rockefeller (D-WV) recognizes the importance of access to affordable medications.  He introduced on August 6, “The Affordable Access to Prescription Medications Act of 2009” (S. 1630).  This legislation would cap out-of-pocket costs for medications – including arthritis drugs under Medicare Part D as well as those with private insurance.  It would cap prescription drug costs at $200 out-of-pocket per monthly prescription and a total monthly out-of-pocket cap of $500 for all prescriptions.  Senator Rockefeller is working to include this legislation in health care reform legislation.  Please tell your Senators about this important legislation and how it would greatly benefit people with arthritis.

Read More: http://capwiz.com/arthritis/issues/alert/?alertid=13865741.

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Jodi McKee: Portraits Of Autoimmune Disease

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this is the beginning of a project i am working on. my plan is to do a portrait series of people with autoimmune diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, ankylosing spondylitis, fibromyalgia, celiac disease, hashimoto’s disease, etc.). often, these diseases strike people at a young age and are chronic. we don’t usually look sick, but they never really go away. there are so many people out there who are struggling with these health issues, and the general public doesn’t really understand. i want to give a face to these diseases to inform my friends and family at least, and the world at best, that we really aren’t “too young to have that” and that even though we “don’t look sick,” we are. and we need your care and support.

More Information: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jodimckee/3802076308/.

What a wonderfully creative project – I can’t wait to see the results! Thank you so much, Jodi, for kicking off this project.

Update: You can also find more infomation about this Autoimmune Disease Portrait Project at the new Jodi McKee Photography blog: http://jodimckeephotography.wordpress.com/.

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