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To: VAUGHN who wrote (12961)	9/30/2003 2:32:54 PM
From: VAUGHN	Respond to of 14101

NR foot note: First national study on the impact of arthritis released One in six Canadian adults now living with arthritis - most of working age OTTAWA, Sept. 30 /CNW/ - The Honourable Anne McLellan, Minister of Health and the Arthritis Community Research and Evaluation Unit (ACREU), in collaboration with The Arthritis Society and the Canadian Arthritis Network (CAN), today released the country's first comprehensive report on arthritis. Arthritis in Canada provides concrete insights into the impact of the disease on Canadians and the healthcare system, and suggests approaches to address the growing numbers of Canadians living with the disease. The report is the first to include national and provincial data from population health surveys, physician billing and drug databases, hospital admissions and day surgeries, and mortality. It finds that four million Canadians adults now have arthritis with more than half being of working age. Moreover, the disease is growing in prevalence by one million every decade. "Arthritis is not just aches and pains in older people. It affects people of all ages, especially women, and is a leading cause of pain and physical disability," says Dr. Elizabeth Badley, director of ACREU and lead author of the report. "Arthritis is not usually thought of as a significant health condition, but people with arthritis also make millions of visits to doctors each year and many take medications daily. There is still much about arthritis that we don't know. This report will be an important benchmark in the ongoing process of improving health care for Canadians living with this chronic disease." The toll of arthritis Arthritis has a significant effect on the day-to-day lives of those with the disease. A higher proportion of people with arthritis report experiencing moderate to severe pain and activity restrictions compared to people with other chronic conditions. In comparison with those suffering from other chronic conditions, arthritis sufferers were more likely to need help with daily activities, report worse self-rated health, stress (nearly twice as high), disrupted sleep (more than twice as high), depression (10 per cent higher among those of working age), and more frequent contact with health professionals. Economic impact The economic burden of arthritis is estimated to be at least $4.4 billion annually. Long-term disability accounts for almost 80 per cent of arthritis-related costs, with 70 per cent of these costs incurred by individuals aged 35-64. "Arthritis in Canada truly demonstrates the personal and financial burden that arthritis represents for Canadians," said Anne McLellan, Minister of Health. "This report is a critical step in understanding how to improve the quality of life for those suffering from the disease," the Minister added. The report also identified: - two of three individuals with arthritis are women; - Canadians made 8.8 million physician visits for arthritis and related conditions in 1998. Four out of five patients (82%) who sought medical advice due to arthritis and related conditions made at least one visit to a primary care physician. - physician visit rates for arthritis vary by province, ranging from 146 to 207 per 1,000 for people aged 15 and above in 1998; - a static trend in rates of orthopaedic procedures; - the percentage of people with prescriptions for disease modifying agents, the current gold standard of treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, has increased steadily over time. However, the overall rate of provision of these drugs falls short of the estimated prevalence of the disease and varied among provinces; - the costs due to musculoskeletal conditions in Canada accounted for 10.3 per cent of the total economic burden of all illnesses, but only 1.3 per cent of health science research; and - the need for continued improvement and coordination of surveillance activities. "We're thrilled this report is taking a good hard look at the impact arthritis is having on all Canadians," says Denis Morrice, President and CEO, The Arthritis Society. "The report clearly reflects that the economic burden and incidence of arthritis in Canada continue to climb, while access to treatment and medications is on the decline. The treatment gap that results clearly illustrates the need to find ways to improve the quality of life for the millions who are battling this disease in Canada." The release of Arthritis in Canada coincides with the Bone and Joint Decade which was endorsed by the Minister of Health, on behalf of the Government of Canada and by the report's partnering organizations. Copies of the report can be obtained by visiting hc-sc.gc.ca or www.arthritis.ca/mediacentre or www.acreu.ca. More information about The Arthritis Society, ACREU and CAN may be found by visiting www.arthritis.ca, www.acreu.ca and www.arthritisnetwork.ca, respectively. -30- For further information: please contact: Sheila McEachen or Sousie Tsotskos, Cohn & Wolfe (416) 924-5700 ext. 4069 or 4066, (sheila_mceachen@ca.cohnwolfe.com or sousie_tsotskos@ca.cohnwolfe.com) or Emmanuel Chabot, Health Canada (613) 957-1803

To: VAUGHN who wrote (12961)	9/30/2003 10:42:33 PM
From: axial	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 14101

Hi Vaughn - "I also have to wonder if WF10 might help with certain forms of Arthritis which are believed to be caused by the body's immune system" The short answer is probably, but not necessarily. The Euro patent extension gave us an idea... "Inappropriate immune response has been implicated in up to 80 different autoimmune diseases. Conditions mentioned specifically in Oxo's European patent claims include colitis, chronic fatigue syndrome, Crohn's disease, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, lupus erythematosus, Lyme disease, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, psoriasis, serum disease, rheumatic fever, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, Sjorgen syndrome, spondylarthropathies, sarcoidosis, as well as autoimmune forms of hemolysis, hepatitis, neutropenia, polyglandular disease, and thyroid disease. Autoimmune diseases affect an estimated 5 percent of the total population in Europe and North America." We might have inferred this patent extension (and some of the immune disorders WF10 might treat) from di7026's wonderful post on the McGrath/Kuhne patent on the Predictive Method using WF10, gene expression and PCR... stockhouse.ca stockhouse.ca stockhouse.ca ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Following the research of those originally involved with WF10, and subsequent parallel research, has revealed tremendous progress. Scientists are starting to realize that the cascade of immune responses triggered by reactive oxygen goes much further than previously imagined. The depth and subtlety of effects on immune signalling were missed - and are only now starting to be understood. There was evidence, but researchers were looking elsewhere. For instance, Europeans have been using ozone therapy for a while now, and there's quite a body of literature on its use. Recently, it was discovered that the human immune system actually produces ozone itself. Mark once posted that he expected WF10 to have far-reachiing consequences on the study of immunology. Directly and indirectly, he is already being proven right. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I've been working on a post about this stuff for a while now, and I hope to get it out this weekend. Here's a hint... Did you ever wonder why WF10 also had the names Macrokine and Immunokine? Jim