Scleroderma Media Coverage: July 2008

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July 2008

It's Not All in the Genes. Your genes are not your destiny. Lifestyle and diet can play an important role on your genes. You can change the outcome even if it is "written" otherwise in your genes. RedOrbit. 06/30/08. (Also see: Alternative Therapies and Causes of Scleroderma )

Making patients move requires the right exercise advice. It is common knowledge that regular exercise supports physical and mental well-being. Despite this and recommendations from health care providers, the majority of patients with chronic illnesses remain inactive. Physorg.com. 07/23/08. (Also see: Coping )

The Body's Traffic Cop. Perhaps you're much more tired than usual. You're chilly even in warm weather. Your skin is dry and globs of moisturizer aren't helping. The culprit might be your thyroid. Barbara Kantrowitz and Pat Wingert. Newsweek. 07/23/08. (Also see: Thyroid )

Local man completes stem-cell therapy. Randy suffers from systematic scleroderma, a disease that affects the organs of the body and hardens the skin. The Dupreys and their young son, Alek, went to Duke University so Randy could undergo research-based stem-cell therapy to try to help his condition. PressRepublican.com. 06/30/08.

Fibromyalgia: Little understood, often frustrating. You wouldn't know it by looking at her, but at any given moment Dana Poole hurts all over. In addition to widespread pain, patients may complain about fatigue and sleep disturbances, depression, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome and heightened sensitivity. CNN.com./Health. July, 2008. (Also see: Fibromyalgia )

How Cells Die Determines Whether Immune System Mounts Response. Every moment we live, cells in our bodies are dying. One type of cell death activates an immune response while another type doesn't. This finding eventually could have important implications in the treatment of autoimmune diseases and cancer. NewsWire. 07/15/08. (Also see: Causes of Scleroderma and Autoimmunity )

Student Spotlight. "I looked at a specific marker, CXCR3. I discovered that plasma cells were expressing this marker and showed that celiac patients had a high concentration of CXCR3-expressing plasma cells. I was interested because my mom, Bernadette, my two younger sisters, and me, we have celiac disease." The Philadelphia Inquirer. 07/06/08. (Also see: Celiac Disease )

Datazoom's 'Research Smarts' Provides Insights for Healthcare Research in Rarer Diseases. Researchers specialized in diseases such as Lupus, Hepatitis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Scleroderma and other relatively obscure diseases have found it difficult to provide quality data to pharmaceutical companies for obtaining their assistance in coming out with drugs for these diseases. PRWeb. 07/09/08.

Ask The Mayo Clinic: Causes and treatments for pulmonary fibrosis. I've had numerous bouts of pneumonia over the years. Now I've been told that I have pulmonary fibrosis. Can you tell me what to expect and is there anything I can do? SeattlePI.com. 06/08/08. (Also see: Pulmonary Fibrosis )

Cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), sometimes fatal, have been reported in patients treated with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF). PML is a rare, progressive, demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that usually leads to death or severe disability. Roche has reported ten confirmed and seven possible cases of PML with MMF. The ten confirmed cases were six solid organ transplant patients and four systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 07/01/08. (Also see: FDA warnings and Cellcept )

When and How To Say "No" to Caregiving. How does a caregiver know when he or she can no longer manage the daily caregiving routines and planning responsibilities? What signals alert the caregiver that he or she is in trouble of getting lost in caregiving? Deborah Colgan. Today's Caregiver. July, 2008. (Also see: Support )

arGentis files patent application. ARG201 is an immunotherapy designed to induce low-dose oral tolerance, or reduce the body's autoimmune response. The therapy has been granted orphan status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Phase III trials are expected to begin in the first half of 2009. Memphis Business Journal. 07/01/08. (Also see: Scleroderma Treatments )

FDA Advises Patients to Switch to HFA-Propelled Albuterol Inhalers Now . The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued a public health advisory to alert patients, caregivers and health care professionals to switch to hydrofluoroalkane (HFA)-propelled albuterol inhalers because chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-propelled inhalers will not be available in the United States after Dec. 31, 2008. FDA. 05/30/08. (Also see: Asthma and FDA Warnings )