Home Community Newsletter Vol 4 Issue 151

Arthritis Insight Newsletter * Vol. 4 Issue 151 May 7, 2003

----------------------------------
Welcome to the 151st issue of the Arthritis Insight Newsletter. All back issues will be posted at community/newsletter
Feel free to pass this newsletter around to others who may be interested.

----------------------------------
The information in this newsletter should not take the place of advice and guidance from your own health-care providers. Material in this newsletter is provided for educational and informational purposes only. Be sure to check with your doctor before making any changes in your treatment plan. Information presented here is the opinion of the authors and has not necessarily been approved or endorsed by the medical advisors.

----------------------------------
Notes From Tina
(Tina@arthritisinsight.com)
Tina Underwood aka KrissyJo

Greetings everyone! Mother's Day is quickly approaching - if you haven't found your mom something wonderful, you better get moving before all the good stuff's gone ;o).

We're down to the final week for the fundraiser. (Yes, yes. One more newsletter and you won't have to hear about it any more.) Donations must be in by the 15th to qualify for prizes. I can't begin to thank all of you that have donated. You've literally kept us alive. I'm hoping to have a new tally for you soon. Hopefully we'll pick up a sponsor or two in the near future and it will be a very long time before we need to have another.

We're also in the process of setting up affiliate accounts with online shopping sites that would let you do buy online with a portion of what your purchase price coming back to AI. If anyone would like to recommend a site (it doesn't have to be arthritis related) just drop us a line and we'll take a look.

That's it from me, a very happy mother's day to all you moms. See ya next week!

~Kimmy

----------------------------------
Ron's Ramblin's
(Ron@arthritisinsight.com)
Ron Griffin aka IndyRon

Ron's Dad's in the hospital which has him running between two states trying to take care of things. Hopefully he'll be back with Ramblin's next week.

----------------------------------
Your Weekly Giggle
WHAT SEX ARE THEY?
(Thanks Chief!)

ZIPLOC BAGS - male, because they hold everything in, but you can always see right through them.

SHOE - male, because it is usually unpolished, with its tongue hanging out.

COPIER - female, because once turned off, it takes a while to warm up.

TIRE - male, because it goes bald and often is over inflated.

HOT AIR BALLOON - male, because to get it to go anywhere you have to light a fire under it ... and, of course, there's the hot air part.

SPONGES - female, because they are soft and squeezable and retain water.

SUBWAY - male, because it uses the same old lines to pick people up.

HOURGLASS - female, because over time, the weight shifts to the bottom.

HAMMER - male, because it hasn't evolved much over the last 5,000 years, but it's handy to have around.

REMOTE CONTROL - female! .... Ha! You thought I'd say male. But consider, it gives men pleasure, he'd be lost without it, and while he doesn't always know the right buttons to push, he keeps trying.


Check out all the jokes at:
fun/jokes
Send yours in today!

----------------------------------
Tina's Tips
Tina@arthritisinsight.com

Arthritis can affect your ability to do even the simplest of tasks. I've heard some people say, "Accept your limitations." I'm not sure accepting them is the way to go. I prefer to challenge those limitations, work around them, finding alternate ways of achieving the same goal. Every week I'll share some tips I've found to work around those annoying limitations and I hope all of you will send in your tips too. We may not be the next Martha Stewart, but sometimes the simplest things can help so much.

We're going to try something news this week. Thought maybe you could help.

I bought my mother a necklace for Christmas but she cannot open or close the clasp. Do you know of a site that has things such as a larger clasp?

If anybody's found something to make the putting on of the jewelery easier, drop us a line and let us know. We'll post what we find next week :)

Check out more tips at living/tips.html and send in yours today to Tina@arthritisinsight.com Keep those tips coming!

----------------------------------
Whats New
Check out all the latest updates at updates.html

Fundraiser 2003
Many, many thanks to Di Abell, Char Le Fleur, Donna Greyerbiehl and Virginia Ross for their very generous donations! We're down to the last eight days - if you're going for those prizes ;o) - time to send those last minute donations in!
help/fundraiser2003

Rosie's SOS
Rosie explains "Managing Multiples".
living/family/sos

Birthday Board
Added two more - when's yours?
community/birthday

Arthritis & Pets
Pets are members of the family too!
living/pets/

Fight the Fatigue
Bubbles tells us how...
living/fatigue

Member Stories
Darlene F. and Missy update their stories.
community/stories

Question of the Week
New answers, a new question. Go on over and take a look.
community/question

Newsletter
Issue 150 is hot off the press and ready for you to review. ;o)
community/newsletter

----------------------------------
Arthritis Insight Chat
community/chat

Time to get the party started! Got some extra time? Can't sleep? Drop into the chatroom to talk to other members that know exactly what you're going through.

----------------------------------
Cooking with Char
Char LeFleur
Char@arthritisinsight.com

Hello friends! The weather all over, has been pretty erratic, and meteorologist are saying, weather patterns are shaping up like they did 10 yrs ago, when we had major flooding all over the Midwest. I sure hope they are wrong about that. But we will see.

A brief note to remind you that my husband and I will be hosting Gimpfest 2003, here in Iowa in July. Details can be found at www.fadedjeans.com/iowa. Come one, come all. It is going to be a terrific party!! And you wont want to miss it.

Potato Salad is always a summer time staple, and everybody has their family favorite, but once in a while, it is fun to try something a little different. So here are 3 variations on a theme.

Grilled Potato Salad with Crisp Bacon

For the dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons canola oil, or other vegetable oil
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
For the salad
4 pounds small (3-inch) red potatoes
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt, such as kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
6 strips bacon
1 medium red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped parsley leaves

1. Scrub the potatoes, put them in a large pot, and add water to cover by about 2 inches. Salt the water generously. Cover the pot and set it over high heat. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to a brisk simmer and cook until the potatoes can just be pierced by a fork. The time will vary with the size of your potatoes, but they may take up to 25 minutes.2. Drain the potatoes, place them in a shallow pan, and drizzle with the oil. Roll the potatoes in the oil to coat, season with salt and pepper, and let cool to room temperature. Cut the potatoes in half, and toss to coat the cut sides in oil. You can do this several hours ahead of time; let the potatoes sit at room temperature.3. Prepare a charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill for direct cooking over high heat.4. While the grill is heating, warm a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, turning as needed, until crisp, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the bacon from the skillet and drain on paper towels. When it's cool, chop roughly and set aside.5. Grill the potatoes, turning them frequently, until they are well browned and beginning to char in spots, 5 to 8 minutes. Put them in a bowl, and add the bacon, onion, and parsley. 6. Drizzle the dressing over the potatoes, toss gently, and serve immediately.

Summertime Potato Salad

3 pounds medium red-skin potatoes (about 12), cut into 1-inch chunks
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup whole milk
2 small celery stalks, thinly sliced
2 green onions, minced

directions-
1. In 5- to 6-quart saucepan, place potatoes and enough water to cover; heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 8 to 10 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender. 2. Meanwhile, in large bowl, with wire whisk, mix vinegar, oil, mustard, salt, and pepper.3. Drain potatoes. Add hot potatoes to bowl with vinaigrette; gently stir with rubber spatula until evenly coated and vinaigrette is absorbed. Cool 15 minutes.4. In small bowl, with wire whisk, mix mayonnaise and milk until smooth. Add mayonnaise mixture, celery, and green onions to potatoes. Gently stir with rubber spatula until mixed. Serve warm or cover and refrigerate up to 1 day.

Deviled Potato Salad

1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1/3 cup Dijon Mustard
1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 lbs. potatoes, cooked, peeled and cubed (about 5 cups)
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped red onion
2 hard-cooked eggs, coarsely chopped

directions-
In large bowl, blend mayonnaise, creamy Dijon mustard, vinegar, sugar and salt. Add potatoes, celery, red onion and eggs; toss gently. Cover and chill. Spoon, if desired, into lettuce-lined bowl and garnish with cherry tomatoes.

If you have questions, comments or suggestions, or have recipes you would like to share, please send them to Char@arthritisinsight.com.

----------------------------------
From The NIH
NHLBI Study Finds All-in-one Approach to Lifestyle Changes
Effectively Lowers Blood Pressure
http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/apr2003/nhlbi-22.htm

Lifestyle changes to prevent or control high blood pressure need not be made one at a time. According to a study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), with special counseling, Americans can make all the needed changes at the same time. The best results were achieved when the lifestyle changes included adoption of the DASH diet, which is rich in fruits, vegetables, and lowfat dairy products.

Results of the study, called PREMIER, appear in the April 23, 2003 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

"This is the first time a host of behavioral steps to prevent or control high blood pressure has been put together in one intervention," said NHLBI Director Dr. Claude Lenfant. "Past studies looked at one or two changes at a time, and it was thought that doing more would prove too hard. But PREMIER shows that an all-in-one approach works and can help Americans reduce their blood pressure, lowering their risk for heart disease and stroke."

"PREMIER underscores the importance of lifestyle changes as a first-line weapon in the fight against high blood pressure," said Dr. Lawrence J. Appel, Professor of Medicine at The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, MD, and a coauthor of the article. "Those in the study who made the greatest lifestyle changes had the best blood pressure results. Millions of Americans can benefit by using these lifestyle changes to control high blood pressure -- or prevent it in the first place."

High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease and the chief risk factor for stroke. Even blood pressure slightly above normal increases the risk.

About 50 million American adults -- one in four -- have hypertension and the risk of developing it increases with age.

Recommended lifestyle steps to prevent or control hypertension are to: lose weight if overweight, follow a heart-healthy eating plan, which includes reducing salt and other forms of sodium, increase physical activity, limit consumption of alcoholic beverages, and quit smoking. Additionally, results of earlier studies, published in December 2001 and April 1997, showed that the DASH diet significantly lowers blood pressure, especially when combined with reduced sodium intake. DASH stands for "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension."

PREMIER dealt with all of the hypertension prevention and control steps. The study began in 1998 and was conducted at four clinical centers. It included 810 participants with blood pressures of 120-159 mm Hg systolic and 80-95 mm Hg diastolic. (Higher-than-optimal blood pressure is 120-139/80-89 mm Hg; stage 1 hypertension is 140-159/90-99 mm Hg.) At the start of the trial, 38 percent of participants had hypertension, and most were overweight and sedentary. Sixty-two percent were women and 34 percent were African American.

Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: Advice-Only, Established, and Established Plus DASH. All three groups received printed materials about blood pressure and lifestyle. In addition, those in the Advice-Only group received a 30-minute individual session with a nutritionist, which did not include counseling on how to make behavior changes. Those in the Established group had 18 counseling sessions in 6 months -- 14 group meetings and 4 individual sessions. They kept track of their diet, including calorie and sodium consumption, and their physical activity. Those in the Established Plus DASH group had the same intervention schedule as those in the Established group, but also were taught to follow the DASH diet and to record their daily servings of fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and fat.

After 6 months, blood pressure levels had declined in all three groups but the reduction was significantly more in the two intervention groups and most in the Established Plus DASH group. Systolic blood pressure decreased on average by 11.1 mm Hg in the Established Plus DASH group, 10.5 mm Hg in the Established group, and 6.6 in the Advice-Only group; diastolic blood pressure decreased on average by 6.4 mm Hg in the Established Plus DASH group, 5.5 mm Hg in the Established group, and 3.8 in the Advice-Only group.

The percent of those with hypertension dropped after 6 months from 37 to 12 in the Established Plus DASH group, from 37 to 17 in the Established group, and from 38 to 26 in the Advice-Only group.

After 6 months, the percent of those able to control their high blood pressure also was greatest in the Established Plus DASH group. Seventy-seven percent of hypertensives in that group lowered their blood pressure to under 140/90 -- by comparison, drug treatment typically controls blood pressure in about 50 percent of those with stage 1 hypertension, according to the article. About 66 percent of hypertensives in the Established group and 48 percent of hypertensives in the Advice-Only group brought their hypertension under control.

Other key results include:

Optimal blood pressure (less than 120 mm Hg systolic and less than 80 mm Hg diastolic) was achieved in 35 percent of the Established Plus DASH group, 30 percent of the Established group, and 19 percent of the Advice-Only group.

Fewer of those in the two intervention groups who started the trial without high blood pressure went on to develop hypertension -- 6 percent in the Established Plus DASH group, 8 percent in the Established group, and 11 percent in the Advice-Only group.

Consumption of fruits, vegetables, and dairy products significantly increased in the Established Plus DASH group, compared to the other two groups. A third of those in the Established Plus DASH group consumed nine or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily, compared with only 6 percent of those in the other groups. Fifty-nine percent of those in the Established Plus DASH group consumed two or more dairy servings a day, compared with about 34 percent of the Advice-Only and about 28 percent of the Established groups.

Significant weight loss occurred in all groups -- the average losses for those who were overweight at the start of the study were about 13 pounds in the Established Plus DASH group, about 11 pounds in the Established group, and about 3 pounds in the Advice-Only group.

"One of the key findings in PREMIER is that people can not only follow the DASH diet on their own but also can lose weight on it, even though it calls for many more servings of fruits and vegetables a day than Americans typically consume," said Dr. Eva Obarzanek, NHLBI nutritionist and PREMIER Project Officer. "The new findings mean that it's feasible for Americans to use the eating plan, lose weight if they're overweight, and protect themselves against the risks of high blood pressure."

----------------------------------
Member Stories
Melinda G's Story

I am a 46-year-old female working as a senior-level administrative assistant for an international banking firm.

I was diagnosed with RA in 1984 but quickly went into remission until it came back with a vengeance in 1994. I have been struggling with it ever since. From 1994-96 I was on high doses of Prednisone, and was pretty much pain-free, but gained a ton of weight. I finally got so disgusted with myself, I, without consulting my Rheumalogist or even tapering off, just quit taking the Prednisone cold turkey [I DON'T RECOMMEND THIS!!!]. The result was my body went into shock and 1997 became one of the worst years of my life. I was in so much pain and could barely function. I also lost 40 lbs without trying (the only good thing that came out of this).

My RD had me taking Daypro, but I developed lots of side effects and now I hate that drug and refuse to ever take it again. Back in the 80's I had had some success with Clinoril (a NSAID), so I asked my doctor to put me on that. He did and I started feeling better, not great, but better. I had heard about Methotrexate and asked the doctor to prescribe it for me and he did, starting out with 3 tablets a week (in addition to the Clinoril). After a couple of months, I was still doing "so-so," and he upped it to 5 tablets a week. I began to feel much, much better and gradually became pain-free and active and functional once again and pretty much led a normal, care-free lifestyle after that.

Although my arthritis as pretty much been under control, I've had progressive deformity in my hands, beginning with the right hand and in the last year, my left is now going. They are very crooked and bent, and it's to the point that I will need corrective surgery on my right one this year.

Flare-ups were rare, but they do happen and I've just recovered from the flare-up from hell that lasted almost 4 months. I was in great pain and extremely fatigued. It was an ordeal to dress for work each morning and an ordeal to walk the one block from the parking garage to my office. I had no energy, as I was in great pain every day. Towards the end, I missed four days of work in a 7 day period. I couldn't function so I finally broke down and asked my doctor for a Prednisone pak and it was my salvation. It brought me relief and three weeks later, I am still doing well. The stiffness is coming back, but its tolerable. I'm active and strong once again and it feels great!

I just want to let everyone know that it's not easy living with RA or Fibromalgia, but hang in there!!!

To see the rest of stories go on over to:
community/stories

----------------------------------
Notes and Insights:

Birthday Board!
Happy Birthday Veronica, Mohammed Ali, kmusall and Penny!!!
Check out all the birthdays at
community/birthday
and make sure to send them an arthritis-friendly e-card:
cgi-bin/postcards/postcard.pl

Fundraiser 2003
We don't like to beg, but we're having a hard time staying online. The cost of keeping Arthritis Insight running is large (to us anyway), and while there are still no salaries being paid, there are monthly bills that need to be covered if we want to stay online.
Our solution? We're having a Fundraiser.
It's been two years since we've had one - and we know we're not the only ones out there asking you to part with your money, but if you can help, please check out the Fundraiser information at:
help/fundraiser2003

Gimpfest 2003 Iowa, Here We Come!
Come be part of the fun when dozens of gimps head to Stuart, Iowa on July 24-27.
Get all the details here:
http://www.fadedjeans.com/iowa/

AJAO Regional Conference
"Taming Juvenile Arthritis"
June 2003 - Phoenix, Arizona
The Arthritis Foundation is proud to host the 2003 American Juvenile Arthritis Organization (AJAO) Regional Conference, "Taming Juvenile Arthritis." The American Juvenile Arthritis Organization leads the effort to improve the quality of life for those affected by childhood arthritis and related diseases. This 3-day conference is geared towards children, teens, young adults and family members who are affected by juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and other childhood rheumatic diseases
http://jraworld.arthritisinsight.com/community/involved.html

JRA JAMFEST: General Information:
Dates: Saturday May 17, 2003 - Sunday May 18, 2003
Target Audience: Kid Friendly,General Audience
Time: 11:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m.
Phone: 502-589-6620, ext 106
Location:
Derby Flea Market & Traders Circle:
2900 South 7th Street Road,
Louisville, KY 40216
Ticket Information: free admission, fee for games, raffles, etc..
Event Details/Other Comments:
JRA JamFEST is a two day event to benefit FACES. FACES is Facing Arthritis with Compassion, Encouragement and Support, a group for children, teens and young adults living with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA). All proceeds will go directly to FACES and will help us sponsor children and their families to JRA conferences, JRA camps, and other juvenile arthritis related events! Join us for a day of live music on May 17th featuring Doubleback and headlining, Wayne Young and the Youngsters!!! May 18th enter our Karaoke Contest! Come out for the fun, entertainment, games, prizes, food, drink, information and lots more!!!!

Join the Arthritis Dieters!
This is a group of people with arthritis who want to lose weight with others who know of the challenges of living with is arthritis. All those medications that make living with arthritis tolerable, but pile on the pounds. This group has been set up to give us a protected group where we can talk to others who know what it is like.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arthritis-dieters/

Wanna help?
Having surgery? Starting a new drug or treatment? Filing for disability? Keep an Arthritis Insight journal so all of our members can share and learn from your experience. If you want to keep a journal just let us know.

Write an article!
We always need articles on all subjects relating to arthritis. C'mon folks, we can't do this without you.

Ken Akers Cheer Fund
Donations to the Ken Akers Cheer Fund will be used to send flowers and gifts to those community members who are hospitalized, flaring or just in need of some good cheer.
community/kenscheerfund

Thank You!
A great big thank you to NeedaBasket.com (http://needabasket.com). NeedaBasket is now Arthritis Insight's official gift basket company. They are giving us a great discount and are donating baskets for our Arthritis Warriors.

Special Offers for Arthritis Insight Members
Whenever possible we will try get to our sponsors to agree to discounts and the like for our members. Here are our current special offers:

Sore No More (http://sorenomore.com) gel will send a free sample of the pain relieving gel to any Arthritis Insight Community Member who emails them at dma@glogerm.com.

----------------------------------
AI Help Desk
Linda Peck

Watch your magnets!

Have you ever had a 3.5 floppy disk (or zip disk) stop working unexpectedly? Granted those little 3.5 floppies are seldom accused of being reliable, but still, you'd like them to last as long as possible. Well, the cause of the little guy's early demise may have been magnetic.

Disks are a magnetic storage medium. The head inside the drive arranges data on your disk through the precise use of low magnetic fields. If a magnetic source gets too close to your disk, it could cause all those little bits of data to be sent into a digital abyss. Maybe you don't remember putting anything magnetic near your floppy disk. Keep in mind that your refrigerator magnets aren't the only ones in your house.

Have you ever set your cordless phone down on your desk, maybe even on top of a disk? The little speakers in that phone have magnets in them. I've also seen people stack disks between their computer monitor and speakers. Bad idea. Although computer speakers are usually shielded, they can still destroy a disk.

Be careful when transporting disks, too. Setting them on top a dashboard speaker or sliding them into a car door near a speaker are a couple additional ways to ruin data.

HTML Errors

It happens to all of us. We're surfing along, and up comes an error (usually 404). What do all those error codes mean? Here's a quick rundown of the most common:

400 - Bad Request - You probably typed in a URL wrong, the server has no clue what you're looking for, or you aren't allowed to have access. Usually, it's a matter of the URL being typing in wrong. Maybe you mixed upper and lowercase letters or something.

401- Unauthorized Request - You tried to get to something on the web server you're not allowed to play with. In other words, you ain't on the party list.

403 - Forbidden - You can't access the page. You may not have access (it may require a password), or it may be blocked from your domain.

404- Not Found - The page you were trying to look at was not found on the server. This is probably the most common error you'll come across. What has probably happened is that the web page you were going to has been removed or re-named.

500 - Internal error - Usually caused by a CGI error. You fill out a form, but the script used to process it is not working properly.

503 - Service Unavailable - The server may be overloaded, down, or have other similar problems. Try later.


This Week's Clicks

Check on the pollen count in your area
Find out the origin of your name
Contact your congress person or request free items

Until Next Week ~

"What you care about is evidenced not so much by what you say, but by what actions you actually take. Take a look around at the life you've fashioned for yourself, and you'll be able to easily see the things you truly care about." Ralph Marston

----------------------------------
Weekly News Summary
Karen Sears
kaekae@arthritisinsight.com

More health news can be found on our site:
news/

LYME DISEASE TREATABLE WITH FEWER ANTIBIOTICS
People with Lyme disease typically take antibiotics for at least 21 days. However, new research reported Monday suggests some patients may fully recover with less than half as many days of treatment.
Yahoo News, May 5

AGGRESSIVE TREATMENT REVERSES SLE-RELATED TYPE B INSULIN
Aggressive immunosuppression with cyclophosphamide and mycophenolate mofetil can reverse the type B insulin resistance syndrome that rarely complicates systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), according to a case report in the April issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.
Medscape, May 5 (free registration required)

RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS ACTIVITY SIGNS CAN ALSO BE USEFUL FOR MEASURING
PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS ACTIVITY
Acknowledged indications of rheumatoid arthritis may also prove useful for measuring disease activity in psoriatic arthritis with peripheral arthritis.
Doctors Guide, May 2 (free registration required)

STUDY SHOWS WOMEN 50-64 AT HIGH FRACTURE RISK, TOO
Although the risk of bone fractures increases with age, a new study released this week suggests that many women develop dangerously low bone mass and fractures even during the first years after menopause.
Yahoo News, May 2

SHARED GENETIC FACTORS DO NOT EXPLAIN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN HIGH BMI AND KNEE OA
The association between high body mass index (BMI) and knee osteoarthritis (OA) does not appear to be mediated by genetic factors and may therefore be modifiable, according to a report in the April issue of Arthritis and Rheumatism.
Medscape, May 2 (free registration required)

SODIUM HYALURONATE EFFECTIVE FOR KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIC PAIN
Sodium hyaluronate is effective and well tolerated for long-term treatment of osteoarthritic pain, Austrian researchers report.
Doctors Guide, May 2 (free registration required)

CENTRAL NOCICEPTIVE HYPEREXCITABLILTY IMPORTANT IN FIBROMYALGIA
Central nociceptive hyperexcitability may be important in fibromyalgia (FM), according to the results of a study published in the May issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism. The nociceptive flexion reflex may be helpful in discriminating which patients would benefit from central analgesia.
Medscape, May 1 (free registration required)

FACTORS PREDICT EFFICACY OF VISCOSUPPLEMENTATION IN KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS
Four factors predict efficacy of Hylan GF-20 viscosupplementation in patients with knee osteoarthritis: moderate effusion, injection lateral to the patella, joint space loss in a single compartment and radiological meniscal calcinosis.
Doctors Guide, May 1 (free registration required)

ULTRASOUND DETECTS JOINT INVOLVEMENT IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITICS
Ultrasound imaging is an important diagnostic tool for evaluating temporomandibular joint (TMJ) involvement in rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis.
Doctors Guide, Apr 30 (free registration required)

----------------------------------
Contribute

Have you written something you think our subscribers would like to read? Send it to Tina@arthritisinsight.com and maybe we'll use it in our newsletter.

----------------------------------
A Closing Thought
When God Made Mothers
Author Erma Bombeck
(With many thanks to Gwen for reminding this was out there)

By the time the Lord made mothers, he was into the sixth day working overtime. An Angel appeared and said "Why are you spending so much time on this one?"

And the Lord answered and said, "Have you read the spec sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic; have 200 movable parts, all replaceable; run on black coffee and leftovers; have a lap that can hold three children at one time and that disappears when she stands up; have a kiss that can cure anything from a scrape knee to a broken heart; and have six pairs of hands."

The Angel was astounded at the requirements for this one. "Six pairs of hands! No Way!" said the Angel.

The Lord replied, Oh, it's not the hands that are the problem. It's the three pairs of eyes that mothers must have!"

"And that's on the standard model?" the Angel asked. The Lord nodded in agreement, "Yep, one pair of eyes are to see through the closed door as she asks her children what they are doing even though she already knows. Another pair in the back of her head, are to see what she needs to know even though no one thinks she can. And the third pair are here in the front of her head. They are for looking at an errant child and saying that she understands and loves him or her without even saying a single word."

The Angel tried to stop the Lord. "This is too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish."

"But I can't!" The Lord protested, "I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart. She already heals herself when she is sick and can feed a family of six on a pound of hamburger and can get a nine year old to stand in the shower."

The Angel moved closer and touched the woman, "But you have made her so soft, Lord."

"She is soft," the Lord agreed, "but I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish."

"Will she be able to think?" Asked the angel.

The Lord replied, "Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason, and negotiate."

The Angel then noticed something and reached out and touched the woman's cheek. "Oops, it looks like you have a leak with this model. I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one."

"That's not a leak." the Lord objected. "That's a tear!"

"What's the tear for?" the Angel asked.

The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her disappointment, her pain, her loneliness, her grief, and her pride."The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her disappointment, her pain, her loneliness, her grief, and her pride."

The Angel was impressed. "You are a genius, Lord. You thought of everything for this one. You even created the tear!"

The Lord looked at the Angel and smiled and said, "I'm afraid you are wrong again, my friend. I created the woman, but she created the tear!"

---------------------------------
If you wish to advertise in the Arthritis Insight Newsletter, contact us at advertising@arthritisinsight.com
If you wish to unsubscribe to this newsletter, just let us know.
Arthritis Insight Newsletter Copyright 2003

AI Staff
Page last updated on May 7, 2003