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Show NSHS Career Guidance Counselor Richard White stands at the door of the Career Trailer, where students get a comprehensive look at what jobs and professions would be best for them. Aspirin: A Blessing, But . . . Since the last century, the drug most prescribed for arthritis has been common aspirin because it relieves the symptoms of the disease pain and inflammation. Aspirin is relatively mild and safe when used as directed and most physicians consider it the best initial treatment for chronic arthritis. In fact, aspirin, was orignally developed specifically for rheumatoid arthritis, one of the most serious and cripping forms of the disease. But, aspirin has its drawbacks.' It can, cause gastric distress, particiaurly in the large doses usually prescribed for an arthritis patient. So, not everyone can take it. Those with peptic ulcers, intestinal bleeding or people who are allergic to the drug have to deny themselves aspirin. Aspirin affects the symptoms of arthritis by inhibiting the body's production of a natural substance called prostaglandins, which trigger pain and inflammation. However, this substance also plays an important role in protecting the stomach lining, so aspirin theref6re can weaken that protection and be the cuase for gastric distress. Thus, while aspirin is relatively safe, it should not be taken indiscriminately. The Arthritis Foundation regularly warns persons with the disease not to take aspirin lightly, and the Foun datlon's "DO's and DONTs" provide a good guideline for the drug's use: 1. DO see a qualified physician for diagnosis and treatment of arthritis. Proper treatment can control the disease and prevent crippling. ' 2. DO take aspirin, if the doctor prescribes it, strictly according to the "aspirin program" he gives you. 3. DON'T change your aspirin dosage schedule without first asking yout physician. 4. DON'T try to diagnose your owr arthritis problem or pick your own remedies from non-prescription medicines available at the local drugstore. 6. DON'T be lured by aspirin ad vertising into self-treatment and dosing (Continued on Page 8) Aspirin: A Blessing, But . . . (Continued from Page 1) yourself on a homemade schedule. Even though arthritis may begin with "minor aches and pains," it is no disease to fool around with. DO get qualified medical advice and get it early. There are many other drugs, besides aspirin, that are used to treat arthritis. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents are similar to aspirin in their effectiveness in treating the symptoms of the diease. Steroids, gold and peniccilamine are more potent, but they also pack much more dangerous side effects, restricting their use to advanced cases of arthritis. It is the hope of researchers that a new family of safe, non-steroidals will be made available. This next generation of drugs, in addition to providing symptomatic relief, ideally would interrupt the disease process itself. New research has created a consensus in the scientific community about how arthritis works. It seems that a white blood cell called a 1 "monocyte" plays a major role in the process that deteriorates and destroys joints in arthritis victims. Under normal conditions, this call rids the body of debris, including dead tissue and bacteria, that might collect at a site of injury or, infection,, in a person with arthritis, unregulated monocytes invade in abnormally large numbers and then go berserk, eating good joint tissue and bone, along with the debris, and creating more pain and I inflammation. This confirmation of the workings of arthritis is considered a major significant event in a research process that can ultimately lead to the development of new, more effective therapeutic agents for arthritis. The next generations of anti-arthritics, unlike aspirin, will help control those unregulated monocytes in 1 persons with arthritis so that they will be able to carry out their normal functions in the body without causing further damage to chronically inflamed joints. |