Archive for category: Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

A drug that “blindfolds” white blood cells could provide a new way of treating rheumatoid arthritis, new research has shown.

The drug stops the destructive cells migrating to the joints, where they cause the typical damage associated with the disease.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an auto-immune disease in which elements of the immune system attack the body. White blood cells called T-cells are key players in the process.

Study leader Dr Graeme O’Boyle, from the University of Newcastle, said; “Imagine that the damaged joint is covered in flags which are signalling to the white blood cells. Traditional treatments have involved pulling down the flags one by one but what we have done is use an agent which in effect ‘blindfolds’ the white blood cells.

“Therefore, they don’t know which way to travel and so won’t add to the damage.”
The study, funded by the charity Arthritis Research UK, is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Read More: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5hu…

When Venus Williams bowed out of the U.S. Open last fall due to Sjogren’s syndrome, you may have thought, What? But her problem is more common than many think. Sjogren’s belongs to a group of some 80 autoimmune diseases in which the immune system goes haywire and attacks healthy tissue and organs.

Most such illnesses share a few traits: They are on the rise, run in families, are most prevalent in women, and are notoriously difficult to figure out. Patients often see four or more doctors over five years before being correctly diagnosed or finding proper treatment. The key is to identify the disease before it does any lasting damage. Here’s how a handful of women and their doctors unraveled the mysteries of five common conditions.

Read more: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/immune-system-fix