Conquering Rheumatoid Arthritis: The Latest Breakthroughs and Treatments »

". . . A splendid book. Literate and endlessly interesting. It is perhaps the best detailed explanation of rheumatoid arthritis [RA] and its treatment in existence. I highly recommend it to patients with this illness who really want to know more about RA. And it is not only for patients: nurses, physical and occupational therapists, and many physicians could read this book with much profit. Highly recommeded."--Frederick Wolfe, M.D., Director, National Data Bank for Rheumatic Diseases, Arthritis Research Center Foundation
As a biologist with more than thirty years of experience teaching a wide range of complex biomedical subjects and a person who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) himself, Dr. Thomas F. Lee is ideally suited to write a book that addresses the vital questions about the nature of the disease and the rationale behind its treatment. This is the only book that explains in layperson's terms the newest available therapies and the latest advances in our understanding of this often debilitating disease. These new insights have led to many molecular-based approaches already in clinical trial, and many more are waiting in the wings. All of these exciting developments are the result of the ongoing biotechnological revolution and a new understanding of the immune system aided by genetic research.
Over two million people in this country suffer from rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a debilitating autoimmune disease that ravages the delicate lining of the joints. As in other autoimmune diseases, instead of defending against foreign invaders, the immune system inexplicably attacks healthy tissue. RA causes systemic effects as well; not only are joints painful, through the destruction of bone and cartilage, but there is often accompanying fatigue, decreased appetite, depression, and muscle pain.
Dr. Lee not only supplies you with the latest facts on the discoveries about the disease, but he also provides numerous Web sites so that readers can follow this important story as it unfolds.

Thomas F. Lee (Goffstown, NH) is professor of microbiology and biotechnology at St. Anselm College and the author of the critically acclaimed The Human Genome Project: Cracking the Genetic Code of Life and Gene Future: The Promise and Perils of the New Biology.

Library Journal

The cause and treatment of many diseases is being advanced on a molecular level, an area of science and medicine not easily understood by the average person. Lee (microbiology and biotechnology, St. Anselm Coll.; The Human Genome Project) here attempts to make sense of recent research in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), focusing on the evolution of molecular and gene-based therapies for this autoimmune disease, which affects two million adults and children in the United States. Lee offers detailed scientific explanations of RA, an overview of the immune system and its role in the disease, and a description of the inflammatory sequence that launches RA. He then discusses the multibillion-dollar research efforts by universities, biotechnology centers, and the pharmaceutical industry to develop gene-based therapies and follows up with a discussion of the nature of clinical trials and a survey of therapies currently in the pharmaceutical pipeline. Lee mentions the ethical implications of human genome research but admits that it is not the intent of his book to discuss this area of debate thoroughly. Recommended for consumer health collections. Lisa L. McCormick, Jewish Hosp. Health Sciences Lib., Cincinnati Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Acknowledgments
Preface
Chapter 1. When Is Arthritis Rheumatoid?
Chapter 2. The Defenders
Chapter 3. Looking for Achilles' Heel(s)
Chapter 4. The Gene Hunt
Chapter 5. By Mean of Genes
Chapter 6. Stemming the Tide
Chapter 7. Inside the Medicine Cabinet
Chapter 8. The New Medicines
Chapter 9. Clinical Trials
Chapter 10. In the Pipeline
Afterword
Appendix. The Imflammation Superhighway
Glossary
Index