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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Arthritis / March 2005New Findings about RA and Lung Disease
A friend in another RA group found this and I wanted to share. Harvey, is this possibly what you saw on your chest Xray? Gentle hugs Smokie Darling (Annie) New findings about rheumatoid arthritis 05:41 PM PST on Saturday, March 12, 2005 By JEAN ENERSEN / KING 5 News Say rheumatoid arthritis and most people think joint pain and stiffness. But the illness can also affect the lungs, causing shortness of breath and a constant cough. Now, new information may lead to better treatments. After several trips to the hospital with frightening chest pains, Brenda Lloyd was finally diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis lung disease. "I thought I was having heart attacks, then I started getting into pain, a lot of pain," she said. Her lung disease is a result of her rheumatoid arthritis. Until now, rheumatologists haven't known much about causes and treatments of RA lung disease. "The experience has been that the drugs that we commonly use just seem to cause a lot of debility and side affects, without really doing much to help the lung disease," said rheumatologist Dr. Eric Matteson. Research shows that RA lung disease operates differently than other forms of lung disease, and should be treated differently. "There may be treatments available or coming available that can be more specifically targeted to the type of cell and type of lesion that we see in the lung," Matteson said. Researchers found that T cells of the immune system are more abundant in patients with RA lung disease and cause extra inflammation. Knowing the types of cells involved helps doctors distinguish RA's appearance from other lung diseases. "We hope that these findings will give us better understanding of the kinds of treatments that we need to address the problems the patients who have rheumatoid arthritis and in particular rheumatoid lung disease," Matteson said. Lloyd continues to fight her disease while trying to live a normal life. Her doctor said it's working -- there's no sign her lung disease is progressing. Smokers are at higher risk of getting RA lung disease Of the 2.1 million Americans who have rheumatoid arthritis, nearly one-fourth will develop rheumatoid lung disease. http://www.king5.com/health/stories/NW_031205HEKINGONLYrhematoidarthritisEL.130d bebec.html Registration is required, and free, to access the King5 news site. So I sent the entire article. Hi Annie, I really do not know. I saw all the scar lines in both my lungs and the lung specialist seemed to think is was from all those years of three packs a day. He was not interested too much about the fact that I have RA and that a lung problem could be made worse by the DMARD I am taking. Its hell to get old and have problems that go on and on but then I should be used to that after all these years of having RA. Thank you for thinking of me in your post. I do not think my lung doctor is up on RA lung to be honest. How having TB and taking the medicine for that will change things,,,,, I just do not know and will do what I must and see how it comes out. Harv >A friend in another RA group found this and I wanted to share. Harvey, > is this possibly what you saw on your chest Xray? [quoted text clipped - 57 lines] > Registration is required, and free, to access the King5 news site. So > I sent the entire article. > Hi Annie, I really do not know. I saw all the scar lines in both my > lungs and the lung specialist seemed to think is was from all those years of > three packs a day. He was not interested too much about the fact that I > have RA and that a lung problem could be made worse by the DMARD I am > taking. Its hell to get old and have problems that go on and on but then I > should be used to that after all these years of having RA. Thank you for [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > out. > Harv Hey, you have been in prayers since the first time you mentioned the "TB capsules". I'm hoping (and praying) that all goes incredibly well for you, and that you get better and better every single day! Hang in there, big guy. The Big Guy is hearing about you (from me at the least). Smokie Darling (Annie) > >A friend in another RA group found this and I wanted to share. Harvey, > > is this possibly what you saw on your chest Xray? > > > > Gentle hugs > > Smokie Darling (Annie) Harv - My Mom's lung disease is called Interstitial Lung Disease. Her pulm doc said it was the same thing as Rheumatoid Lung and was very interested in the fact that she has ILD and I have RA. Actually, Mom has had symptoms of RA off and on all her life but is neg on the RF test. Of course, we all know that's not carved in stone for a negative diagnosis. Mom also was a heavy smoker so it was hard to pinpoint where it came from. At her age, the doctors are less likely to look for the cause of her symptoms and disease rather they just treat it, if that makes any sense. She has so much going on, they don't really try to label it any more.  SignatureCyberhugs, DianeW It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. --Antoine de Saint Exup?ry Hi Annie, I really do not know. I saw all the scar lines in both my lungs and the lung specialist seemed to think is was from all those years of three packs a day. He was not interested too much about the fact that I have RA and that a lung problem could be made worse by the DMARD I am taking. Its hell to get old and have problems that go on and on but then I should be used to that after all these years of having RA. Thank you for thinking of me in your post. I do not think my lung doctor is up on RA lung to be honest. How having TB and taking the medicine for that will change things,,,,, I just do not know and will do what I must and see how it comes out. Harv >A friend in another RA group found this and I wanted to share. Harvey, > is this possibly what you saw on your chest Xray? [quoted text clipped - 57 lines] > Registration is required, and free, to access the King5 news site. So > I sent the entire article. Diane, interstitial lung disease is what I have. What treatment has your mom had for it? Gwen > Harv - My Mom's lung disease is called Interstitial Lung Disease. Her pulm > doc said it was the same thing as Rheumatoid Lung and was very interested in [quoted text clipped - 73 lines] > > Of the 2.1 million Americans who have rheumatoid arthritis, nearly > > one-fourth will develop rheumatoid lung disease. http://www.king5.com/health/stories/NW_031205HEKINGONLYrhematoidarthritisEL.130d bebec.html > > Registration is required, and free, to access the King5 news site. So > > I sent the entire article. None really. She's supposed to be on O2 all the time but she either forgets or doesn't feel like it and doesn't use it. She gets two meds that I'm unsure of in a nebulizer 3-4 times a day. And she gets steroids and abx if she gets a cold. That's about it. SignatureCyberhugs, DianeW It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. --Antoine de Saint Exup?ry Diane, interstitial lung disease is what I have. What treatment has your mom had for it? Gwen > Harv - My Mom's lung disease is called Interstitial Lung Disease. Her pulm > doc said it was the same thing as Rheumatoid Lung and was very interested in > the fact that she has ILD and I have RA. Actually, Mom has had symptoms of > RA off and on all her life but is neg on the RF test. Of course, we all > know that's not carved in stone for a negative diagnosis. Mom also was a > heavy smoker so it was hard to pinpoint where it came from. At her age, the > doctors are less likely to look for the cause of her symptoms and disease > rather they just treat it, if that makes any sense. She has so much going > on, they don't really try to label it any more. > > Hi Annie, I really do not know. I saw all the scar lines in both my > lungs and the lung specialist seemed to think is was from all those years of > three packs a day. He was not interested too much about the fact that I > have RA and that a lung problem could be made worse by the DMARD I am > taking. Its hell to get old and have problems that go on and on but thenI > should be used to that after all these years of having RA. Thank you for > thinking of me in your post. I do not think my lung doctor is up on RA lung > to be honest. How having TB and taking the medicine for that will change > things,,,,, I just do not know and will do what I must and see how it comes > out. > Harv [quoted text clipped - 54 lines] > > Of the 2.1 million Americans who have rheumatoid arthritis, nearly > > one-fourth will develop rheumatoid lung disease. http://www.king5.com/health/stories/NW_031205HEKINGONLYrhematoidarthritisEL.130d bebec.html > > Registration is required, and free, to access the King5 news site. So > > I sent the entire article. The most common treatments for interstitial lung disease when it is first diagnosed, is high dose steroids and oxygen if needed. If this doesn't help, then often the next line of treatments is a trial of Imuran or actimune. Interstitial lung disease can be very debilitating for some. Often times the course of the disease depends on what stage it was diagnosed and treated at. Donna G |
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