Sometimes the Effects of Drugs (think Remicade) Are Worse Than the Illness

As someone with an autoimmune disease I also read the research on any kind of autoimmune disease or disorder as these are often referred to. Rheumatoid arthritis like many others in its category is a chronic, systemic disorder that causes inflammation. It can affect tissues and organs of your body but this particle disorder attacks the joins. No one knows the cause of mine and that is the same for Rheumatoid arthritis but it is known that autoimmunity plays a crucial role in its chronic nature and progression. Like others in RA the bad cells in the body attack the good ones and why this happens is the mystery.

Like other autoimmune disorders women are much more prone to being afflicted. About 1% of the world's population is afflicted. Again like others (think MS) it hits people after the age of 40 although any age person gets it. It's very painful. My husband's mother whom I never met had it and I hear about it a lot. Again like others it is diagnosed by clinical symptoms and then blood tests can usually definitively tell us which autoimmune disease we have.

It has now been found that some of the powerful new drugs that offer relief top people with rheumatoid arthritis (You see them on TV all the time.) may increase the risk of shingles.

Recently a good friend had shingles - she's in her 70s. Years ago my stepson as a kid had shingles as did my dad. Shingles or Herpes zoster is a virus. The symptoms are a terribly painful skin rash with blisters usually on one side of the body. I remember my step son's was on his back toward the left side if my memory is accurate.

The one positive about shingles is that it goes away! It starts with the chickenpox you may have had as a kid. The chicken pox leaves and leaves you with the virus and can become shingles at some point.

A German study of over 5,000 patients was on drugs called TNF-alpha blockers such as Humira, Remicade or Kineret. It was found that those on these drugs increased the risk of shingles by about 80%. I'm sure you've heard of Enbrel from TV. It seems that this drug did not have the same affect. This study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

These drugs have made people who have been devastated by RA able to be productive again. Sometimes those of us who take medications wonder if the side effects are worse then the disease. Personally in this case I think not since as I said shingles goes away RA does not. Having said that in the study one in five patients had complications from shingles. Having said that although I keep saying shingles goes away. That's my experience with it. In fact you can get what is called postherpetic neuralgia which is literally a side effect of pain for the rest of your life!

Recently my husband came home from our doctor's office and said he was giving out Shingles vaccines. I have not gotten it yet but there is one which is great news but not all doctors think this is a good idea because some doctors are not sure the vaccine is all that effective and who knows what the side effects of the vaccine are? In seems that researchers are working of a non-active version of the vaccine for shingles. So far it seems safe to be given to people with compromise immune systems. I think I'll wait for that.

I don't have an answer right now of why everyone is not put on Embrel but I'll let you know when I find out.

SOURCES

MSN

Healthfinder