Page 6B - THE CHARLOTTE POST - Thursday, May 26. 1988
In The Joint!
scene from Riddle Of The Joints on PBS
By Sharon Broom
TV Writer
Is rheumatoid arthritis a 170-
year-old epidemic that will
eventually run its course and
disappear as mysteriously as it
came?
An unusual trail of evidence,
leading from medieval skeletons
to a small town in Connecticut,
Is shedding new light on the dis
ease., a crippling inflammation
of the joints which afflicts over
two million people in the U.S.
and has no known cause or
cure.
But since rheumatoid arthritis
does not respond to antibiotics,
as an infection should, and no
specific virus has been isolated,
its cause remains a mystery. To
add further confusion, there Is
no clear pattern of transmis
sion: the disease is not contag
ious and seems to pick its vic
tims almost at random.
NOVA, the award-winning
science documentaiy series, ex
plores new clues in "Riddle of
the Joints," airing Tuesday, May
31, at 8 p.m. The program will be
seen over the 10 channels of
North Carolina Public Televi
sion. May is recognized as Na
tional Arthritis Month.
But infected Individuals still
produce numerous antibodies,
as if some foreign microbe were
attacking them.
Researcher Gabriel Panyi of
London's Westminster Hospital
theorizes from this that a virus
is responsible, "a very clever vi
rus," he says — one that is able
to remain hidden and cause the
immune system to attack the
body's own tissues, specifically
those in the joints.
The first symptoms of rheuma
toid arthritis are usually stiff
ness and painful swelling in the
Joints. The disease often gets
progressively worse over the
course of decades, sometimes
spreading to almost eveiy joint
In the body.
An Important clue to its cause
is that the disease seems to
have developed relatively re
cently. Dr. Paul Dieppe and oth
ers at the Bristol Royal Infir
mary in England have studied
thousands of skeletons from
medieval times and found no
sign of the characteristic ero
sion around the joint that sig
nals rheumatoid arthritis.
The first clear case was de
scribed in 1818 by a French
physician. Soon after, the dis
ease apparently became com
mon throughout Europe. Its
sudden appearance and spread
is a sign that it is probably
caused by an infectious agent,
such as a bacterium or virus.
In Lyme, Conn., a bacterium
transmitted by local ticks was
found to cause a form of arthri
tis in just this way, by stimulat
ing the Immune system to turn
against the body. Though
Lyme's disease is caused by
bacteria and can be effectively
treated, it provides a model for
how rheumatoid arthritis may
woik.
Other researchers have found
that a "misprint" in the body's
genetic code may determine
susceptibility to the disease.
This would explain why the epi
demic is so erratic. A person
can carry the virus but won't be
stricken unless he or she also
has the genetic defect.
AIDS Costs
Money
IFWl^
"pi*
fill
“I »«»■
4^'
PtOPLI WITH AIDS
FIGHTING FOR
OUR LIVES '
scene from Who Pays For AIDS? on PBS
By Dawn Battiste
TV Writer
"Who Pays for AIDS?," a
FRONTLINE documentary, ex
amines the health care crisis
created by the disease and the
struggle between local govern
ments and Washington over who
will pay the skjTocketlng cost.
The program airs Tuesday, June
7, at 9 p.m., over the 10 channels
of North Carolina Public Televi
sion.
While great strides have been
rnade in understanding rheuma
toid arthritis, the prospects for a
cure remain uncertain. And
some scientists think that, in
the end, the disease will simply
disappear as mysteriously as it
came. As Dieppe said, "It could
go away, perhaps because we've
cracked it, or perhaps just with
time letting the epidemic pass
by."
It is estimated that by 1991
the bill for caring for people
with AIDS will reach $8 to $10
billion a year. At least half of
those costs will be absorbed by
the taxpayers. In some parts of
country, the financial burden of
treating the disease is already
debilitating. "We are at a satura
tion point," warns Phil Sowa, di
rector of San Francisco General
Hospital. "We cannot tolerate
any Increased admissions with
out compromising our ability to
care for the other patients that
we serve."
In New York, the director of a
methadone clinic explains that
his facility has now also be
come, by necessity, an AIDS
clinic for Infected drug users.
Despite this change in care, Me
dicaid reimburses the clinic
only $12 to $13 per patient \dslt.
Without more financial help.
Dr. Peter Selwyn predicts that
the center will close within a
year. He comments, "What we've
done is to add a whole structure
of primary care for drug users in
the age of AIDS, but we're not
being paid for it."
Doorway
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Come aboard, relax and enjoy (
the ride. From Seattle to St. t
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Dallas to L.A., or Miami to
Memphis, Greyhound will get
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Tickets are non-transferable and good for travel on
Greyhound Lines. Trailways Lines or other parti
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Refund penalty and some restrictions n
Refund penalty and some restrictions mav af»ly.
Fares subject to change without notice .Vo other
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£fGREYHOUND
Bringing families together for 75 years.
? 1988 Greyhound Lines, Inc
pa-
Suppose your medical bUl for
the year was $ 125,000. Suppose
that you were so ill that you
could not work and that you had
no private health insurance.
Where would you turn?
Patrick, a 30-year-old man liv
ing in Kansas City, Mo., is one of
56,000 Americans diagnosed
with AIDS since 1981. His bills
are being paid by Medicaid.
The dilemma is obvious
tients, AIDS victims as well as
others, are having their oppor
tunities for treatment limited by
lack of funds. However, Wash
ington's administration contin
ues to oppose federal emergen
cy funding. Dr. William Roper,
director of the Health Care Fi
nancing System, explains that
he is against a special AIDS fi
nancing program because esta
blishing one means that "we wUl
not be able to put money into
cancer treatment or children
with handicapped conditions."
For Patrick, the question
moves beyond theory. He says
that the issue Is "Should they let
me die or should they not?" He
reflects, "Why should they spend
money on me when they can ac
tually save money? It's a tough
question...! wouldn't want to
take service away from someone
else, I wouldn't want to think I
have."
Is health care supposed to be
an exercise in democracy? And
if so, when does democracy be
come the deprivation of a pa
tient? Most importantly, who
will choose who receives the
best medical treatment?
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Making Tracks!
Track Record, the new record label based in Seattle, WA, has
announced the signing of The Ohio Players and The Average
White Band. The Ohio Players, who've had three platinum and
SIX gold LPs, just completed recording their first Track re
lease. Back, which will be their first new record in eight years.
The single, "Sweat" will be Jeleased April 25th. The Average
White Band, whose biggest nid-seventies hits were "Pick Up
The Pieces" and "Cut The CakB,' are about to go into the studio
to record their first Track LP
i'
5
mil.
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