Three years ago, at a journal club presentation at our hospital and on the hospital web site, I expressed my opinion that the data then available suggesting an excess cardiovascular risk from use of Vioxx (rofecoxib) were inconclusive. I based this opinion on the following. The data compared a large dose of Vioxx (50 mg
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Adapted from a talk at The SLE Workshop at Hospital for Special Surgery A syndrome is a collection of events that constitute a specific illness. Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome (APS) includes a series of symptoms as follows: Repeated clotting in veins (for example – a pulmonary embolus) or arteries (examples include a stoke, a blood clot
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Current Theories With some exceptions, autoimmune diseases affect far more women than men. For some time, physicians and researchers have been asking why this is so. The most popular theory to date has been that female hormones set the stage for diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjogren’s syndrome, and rheumatoid arthritis. But more recent
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At this time of year, patients with lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and other autoimmune diseases always ask, “Should I get a flu vaccination?” At this time in our history, many patients are also asking, “Should I get a smallpox vaccination?” These questions are really about three more general questions: Are patients with autoimmune diseases unusually susceptible
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Summary of a presentation at the Living with RA Workshop at HSS The traditional answer to the question “Why are autoimmune diseases women’s diseases?” has been “It has to do with estrogen.” But that’s not a satisfactory answer because a lot of facts that don’t fit this theory. So the question has been researched with
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Adapted from a talk at The SLE Workshop at Hospital for Special Surgery Warning About Misuse of the Term What is Vasculitis? What Vasculitis is Not When Does Vasculitis Occur in Rheumatic Disease? When is Vasculitis an Important Complication of an Autoimmune Disease? Diseases in Which Vasculitis is the Specific Illness Vasculitis by the Size
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