Clue to Lupus, et al (Baby Aspirin for Heart Attacks??)

[Guest guest]

I am posting an article about lupus, because I always test positive for it, even

though the doctor believes it is a false positive. It occurred to me that

others in the group may have been diagnosed with Lupus, so I am passing it on.

Dana Farber at Harvard is doing research on this subject.

Failed autoimmune suppression mechanism new clue to lupus

Date: February 2, 2011

Bar Harbor, Maine — Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Cambridge,

Mass., in collaboration with Laboratory scientists, have identified a

regulatory defect that drives lupus.

Correcting the defect “may represent an effective therapeutic approach to

systemic lupus erythematosus-like autoimmune disease,” the researchers state in

their research paper, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of

Sciences. The research team was led by Harvey Cantor, M.D., chair of the

department of cancer immunology and AIDS at Dana-Farber, in collaboration with

the laboratory of Professor Derry Roopenian, Ph.D.

Autoimmune diseases develop when the immune system, which is supposed to

identify and vanquish potentially dangerous infectious agents, instead attacks

the individual's own body. Most autoimmune diseases strike specific organs, such

as the pancreas in type 1 diabetes. Lupus, however, is a systemic disease in

which abnormal antibodies are produced throughout the body, inflaming a variety

of tissues and organs, including the skin, heart, lungs, kidneys and brain.

Follicular T helper (TFH) cells fuel B cells to produce antibodies, which can be

useful in fighting infections. But in lupus, TFH fuel B cells that produce

dangerous antibodies that attack normal tissues (autoantibodies). CD8+ T cells

(“killer T cells”), on the other hand, normally attack and destroy only infected

cells. Cantor and colleagues discovered that a small, but critically important,

population of CD8+ T cells (less than 5 percent), plays a specialized role in

protecting from lupus. These so-called CD8+ T regulatory, or Treg, cells are

specially equipped to destroy TFH cells, and by doing so, prevent lupus from

developing.

http://www.jax.org/news/archives/2011/lupus.html?readmor

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Medical Author: B. Driver, MD

What is osteopenia? Should I be worried????

Osteopenia is a bone condition characterized by a decreased

density of bone, which leads to bone weakening and an increased risk of breaking

a bone (fracture). Osteopenia and osteoporosis are related conditions. In

osteopenia, however, the bone loss is not as severe as in osteoporosis. That

means someone with osteopenia is more likely to fracture a bone than someone

with a normal bone density but is less likely to fracture a bone than someone

with osteoporosis.

Osteomalacia, osteomyelitis, and osteoarthritis are different

conditions that are frequently confused with osteopenia because they sound

similar. Osteomalacia is a disorder of the mineralization of newly formed bone,

which causes the bone to be weak and more prone to fracture.

http://www.medicinenet.com/osteopenia/article.htm

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Posted by Nova Simpson, Pharm.D.

Studies have shown that if a person that is having a heart attack chews a

tablet of aspirin 325mg (or 4 tablets of aspirin 81mg), it can limit damage that

happens during a heart attack (of course, you still call 9-1-1!). Now there is a

new rumor out there on the world wide web about taking Bayer Crystals instead of

aspirin for the prevention of heart attacks. I am sure you are now holding your

breath to see if the rumor is true or false…..it is….FALSE!

The Bayer Crystals do not work better to prevent heart attacks. In

addition, the Bayer Crystals could be harmful in a person having a heart attack

for a couple of reasons:

1. The Crystals contain 65mg of caffeine and

2. The Crystals contain 850mg of aspirin – much more than the recommended

325mg! (no, more is not better)

***Take care- most aspirin powders (like Goodys and BC) also have high

levels of aspirin and caffeine***

http://tinyurl.com/4d4j6rf

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Enteric coated or buffered means that there is a special coating on the

aspirin tablet that will delay the release of the medicine until it reaches the

small intestine. Aspirin can bother the belly –so the coating can help lessen

the irritation. However, because it delays the release of aspirin –it is much,

much, much better to chew a non-buffered aspirin during a heart attack.

http://tinyurl.com/48f5vvq

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FYI,

Lottie Duthu

Monday was the day sacred to the moon, when that planet was worshipped

with great reverence by the ancient Saxons. It was first named " Moon Day " and

later changed to the current spelling of Monday. (Also called Lunar day).