Palm Springs, California (NAPSI) – Healthcare providers know that no two patients are alike-and that diseases can manifest themselves quite differently between men and women.

For example, heart attacks plague both genders, but the symptoms vary. Men having heart attacks typically report chest pain that radiates down the arm, while women may instead feel indigestion, extreme fatigue and nausea.

Women often metabolize medicines differently than men in ways that aren’t explained simply by differences in body sizes.

For example, researchers have found that women metabolize nicotine more quickly than men, so a lower-dose nicotine patch for smoking cessation may not be as effective for women.

Women are also more prone to diseases that aren’t obviously related to their sex—diseases such as multiple sclerosis, lupus, migraines, osteoporosis and fibromyalgia. About 90 percent of Americans suffering from lupus, migraines and fibromyalgia are women.

Recognizing these differences, PhRMA recently released a report on new medicines in development, which finds that America’s biopharmaceutical research companies now have 851 medicines in the pipeline for diseases that exclusively or disproportionately affect women.

Some of the greatest strides are being made in understanding and treating autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, which is two to three times more prevalent among women than men.

Currently, more than 100 medicines for autoimmune diseases are in clinical trials or awaiting Food and Drug Administration review.

Many common cancers only or predominantly affect women. Companies are currently working on 139 medicines for these cancers, such as ovarian cancer and breast cancer.

A better understanding of how women react to stress is helping researchers understand how to approach treatments for autoimmune diseases and psychiatric illnesses such as depression and anxiety.

Women’s bodies, for example, react to stress by producing higher levels of cytokines, which are cells secreted by the nervous system, said Lorraine Fitzpatrick, M.D., Medicine Development Leader for GlaxoSmithKline.

Progress in understanding and treating autoimmune diseases represents “one of the great strides made recently for women’s health,” she added.

To find out more, visit youtube.com/watch?v=ppiculo5b6c. For more information on biopharmaceutical research and medicines in development, visit phrma.org/research/new-medicines.

My mom has had back surgery, two knee replacements, foot surgery. she did not follow up on rehab at all after her 2nd knee, does not exercise. she has left-sided inflamation head to toe, including the optic nerve. Urinary and bowel incontinence. this has been going on for years. Her eye Dr. said there was bleeding in the eye that has lost vision. I see similaritites with MS but the loss of vision was that last symptom and what I have researched says it's typically the first. she also has a bulging disc on L5. Is it possible that long term nerve damage and spinal cord compression can cause the same symptoms as MS?

Sounds like could be Spinal cerebellar ataxia worth checking out!!!

They don't know what causes MS. Lupus, which is similar, can also cause similar symptoms. MS and Lupus have not been tracked to any spinal injuries.

Leg swelling and sight and urinary tract problems can be signs of the onset of diabetes. she could also have pinched nerves that would cause numbness or inflammation. I think she SHOULD see a doctor and she SHOULD stat exercising and finish her rehab.

Her lack of rehab and exercise could be causing the poor recovery from all of her surgeries and might not at all be MS related. I think she will feel a lot better if she eats well and starts to exercise!!

Lupus is the great pretender but also Fibromyalgia mimicks lots of other diseases too.

Bloating after eating (or even drinking cool/cold water)
Stiff joints
Bloody, mucousy, floating stools. (WITHOUT any pain when passing).

Is their an association between Lupus and Crohn's disease?

Common symptoms of Crohn's disease include abdominal pain, diarrhea, and weight loss. less common symptoms include poor appetite, fever, night sweats, rectal pain, and rectal bleeding. The symptoms of Crohn's disease are dependent on the location, the extent, and the severity of the inflammation.

The association with Lupus and Crohn's disease is that they are both auto-immune disorders and it is common for people with certain auto-immune disorders to have more than one.

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News EditorReviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on February 14, 2011

A new preliminary study suggests it may not be long before a new technology is used to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease from blood samples long before symptoms appear.

The technology uses synthetic molecules to seek out and identify disease-specific antibodies. Researchers are optimistic that the technique could also be used in the development of specific biomarkers for a range of other hard-to-diagnose diseases and conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and immune system-related diseases like multiple sclerosis and lupus.

“One of the great challenges in treating patients with Alzheimer’s disease is that once symptoms appear, it’s too late. you can’t un-ring the bell,” said Dr. Dwight German, an author of the paper published in the journal Cell.

“If we can find a way to detect the disease in its earliest stages – before cognitive impairment begins – we might be able to stop it in its tracks by developing new treatment strategies.”

Because patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) exhibit immune system activation and neurodegeneration in several brain regions, researchers in the study hypothesized that there may be numerous antibodies in the serum of affected patients that are specific to the disease and can serve as a biomarker.

Antigens – substances such as protein from a virus or bacteria that triggers an immune response – traditionally have been necessary for the discovery of antibody biomarkers. it has been impossible previously to identify an antibody (a type of targeted immune molecule) without first knowing the antigen that triggers its production.

The new study, however, challenges conventional wisdom and uses synthetic molecules (peptoids) rather than antigens to successfully detect signs of disease in patients’ blood samples. these peptoids have many advantages; they can be modified easily and can be produced quickly in relatively large amounts at lower cost.

The adaptive immune system is thought to be a rich source of protein biomarkers, but diagnostically useful antibodies remain undiscovered for a large number of diseases, German said. This is, in part, because the antigens that trigger an immune response in many diseases are unknown.

The technology behind this discovery is essentially an immune-system reader, which is designed to pick out antibodies without knowing in advance which ones to look for.

The researchers used a combination library of several thousand peptoids to screen serum samples from mice with multiple sclerosis-like symptoms as well as from healthy control mice. The particular peptoids that retained more antibodies from the blood samples of the diseased animals were identified as potential agents for capturing diagnostically useful molecules.

The investigators then examined serum samples from six AD patients, six healthy patients and six patients with Parkinson’s. three peptoids were identified that captured six times the IgG antibody levels in all of the Alzheimer’s patients when compared to the control group or to the Parkinson’s patients.

Two of the peptoids were found to bind the same IgG antibody, while the third was shown to bind to different antibodies – meaning there are at least two candidate biomarkers for AD. Using an additional set of 16 normal control subjects and 10 subjects at the very early state of AD, the three candidate biomarkers identified AD with 90 percent accuracy.

“The results of this study, though preliminary, show great potential for becoming a landmark,” said German.

Source: UT Southwestern Medical Center

(HealthDay News) — Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of ClinicalConnection.com:

Psoriasis

this study is for people 18 and older who are diagnosed with plaque psoriasis.

The research site is in new York City.

More information

Please see clinicalconnection.com/clinical_trials/condition/psoriasis.aspx.

Multiple Sclerosis

this study is for people currently being treated for relapsing multiple sclerosis. to qualify, you must be aged 18 to 65 and have taken a drug to control MS symptoms for at least 6 months.

The research site is in new London, Conn.

More information

Please see clinicalconnection.com/clinical_trials/condition/multiple_sclerosis.aspx.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)

this study is recruiting people with systemic lupus erythematosus. Candidates must be aged 18 to 70 and diagnosed with SLE.

The research site is in Boston, Mass.

More information

Please see clinicalconnection.com/clinical_trials/condition/lupus.aspx.

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Copyright 2011 ClinicalConnection.com. all rights reserved.

I've been sick for about 5 years with no diagnoses
it started out as severe nausea, dizziness and anxiety (that I never had before)
then about a year later I started having severe fatigue, lightheadedness, wounds that don't heal well, dark sunken in circles under eyes, weakness, gas and purple toes.

I've been tested for almost everything….Lupus, Thyroid issues, Celiac, Diabetes, iron & B12 levels….do you think they would have checked for Scurvy aswell?

And is there any other health problem/disease that fits my symptoms?
Thank you

Lupus is an ailment that upsets the nervous system. it is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system of the person involves the healthy cells and tissues of its own organic structure.in this condition, there is production of antibodies against the healthy cells of the person which in turn, hurts the tissues going to destruction and inflammation. the antibodies are primarily antinuclear antibodies. there is no causal elements that have been identified for the lupus disease.there has been determinations that indicate that lupus runs in the family. that means it has some hereditary causes. Again it has been found that women are more susceptible to get lupus than men.So this points that hormones can be a cause for it.Racial factor is also considered in this, like African Americans have more chances of getting it than others.Lupus disease has been widespread in the people belonging to ages 15-44 very often.

The lupus is of multiple kinds casing harm to different parts of the organic structure.the most common type is Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.this harms the joints, skin, blood vessels etc.the symptoms of this disease typically include the joints to get inflamed with pain, exhaustion, high fever and butterfly like rash that appears on the nose called malar rash.Another type of lupus is Drug induced lupus which is caused due to over dose of some drugs like procainamide, quinidine and hydralazine.these drugs are usually stipulated when one has hypertension, heart disease, thyroid problems etc.once these drugs are discontinued, the symptoms disappear. Discoid Lupus is another type of this disease.in this there is appearance of rash near regions like ears, face, scalp etc.these scars leave a blemish.Another type is Neonatal Lupus which affect the newborns.it is a temporary type of disease and last for few months in newborn.there is transmission of this disease from the mother to the baby in the womb. Diagnosis of lupus is little delicate as symptoms may vary in various cases.there are certain exam criteria developed by the Rheumatology College in United States that are used in proper diagnosis of the diseased condition.it can be recognized with the help of some of the scientific and proven tests as well.these are shape of the rash, presence of mouth sores, antinuclear test, blood count etc are some tests which are conducted to diagnosis lupus.

Treatment for lupus disease usually varies from individual to person.the indication variant in each case gets treated diffrently.the persons having symptoms of fever associated with joint and chest pain are prescribed NSAIDS medicine.in most cases where a patient has skin eruptions,lung and joint tenderness then they are medicated with antimalarial drugs as well.At times even the immunosuppressive drugs are given.While in others, DMARDS like methotrexate are also prescribed. other things involves the patient to be at rest and minimizing stress leves so as to keep lupus under control.it is best if the patient observes yoga and meditation as well.with this there is improvement of the resistance power in the body along with speeding up the recovery process.

A courageous mum – and former Observer woman of the year – is about to publish her first book.

Jane Gill-Wilson was nominated for the award in 1998 because of charity fundraising she organised after being diagnosed with two serious illnesses.

The mum-of-three learned that she had lupus – a chronic autoimmune condition – in 1996 when she was just 36.

She was then diagnosed with having breast cancer just a few months later.

Jane underwent a mastectomy in 1997, with further health problems causing her to have a second operation in 2008. She is currently in remission from cancer but stil suffers the symptoms of lupus.

Now the former nurse has written 17 poems, in a collection called Raw Emotion, recalling her experiences of ill health and depression, with the goal of inspiring other women.

Jane said it was something she had been wanting to do for a long time.

She said: “I have always wanted to tell my story and I have been writing for years, but the inspiration to tell it in rhyme was sudden.

“One of the poems in the book is called Blossom in Bloom.

“When I was first diagnosed I planted a cherry blossom tree in the garden.

“That has become very poignant now because each time it blossoms it seems to represent new life.

“Others are about my children because they have always been my inspiration, keeping me going.” Jane, who moved from, Brigsteer Close in Clayton-le-Moors to Clitheroe in 1998, decided to turn her hand to writing poetry after setting up a brand new website called Shared Experiences in April. on the website she blogs about living with a chronic illness and encourages other women to tell their own personal stories.

She said: “Shared Experiences is for women who have been through similar situations of ill health, or marital difficulties and other life events.

“I invite ladies to tell their stories, and as a consequence of that I started to write my own verse poetry.

“It was through people reading it and saying you must publish this that I came up with the idea of publishing a small book. I would like to think that my verse doesn’t just relate to me, but any woman who has been through a life threatening event.”

Jane has been divorced twice and says depression is something many people living with chronic illnesses face. She said: “In the beginning of my book my dedication is to all those who are less fortunate than myself and all those who continue in their fight. it says never give up hope, because I think a positive mental attitude is vital in coping with chronic illness.” The collection, which is to be to be published by SilverWood Books, will be released for sale at the end of February. Jane is also working on her life story, just another Hurdle, to be published at a later date.