The Cleveland Clinic Arthritis Advisor

Volume 5
Number 10
October 2006

October 2006

Painkillers: What You Need To Know
Those pain-relieving meds you find on pharmacy shelves aren't all alike. Some reduce pain, others reduce inflammation, some do both. Here's how they compare.

In The News (10/06)
Bioengineered Cartilage Repairs Osteoarthritic Knees Despite the debilitating erosion of cartilage in osteoarthritc knees, the disease¯at least in its early stages¯presents a positive environment for the formation of new cartilage when bioengineered cartilage is implanted. Researchers at the University of Bristol in the U.K. found that custom-made patches¯constructed of erythrocytes (red blood cells) isolated from healthy …

'Functional' Foods: Help Or Hype?
Enhanced Foods? Fortified Foods? It gets confusing. For arthritis pain relief, there are two new products, but you need to evaluate the claims.

4 Moves That Can Save Your Back
Back pain, as you age, is common¯but not inevitable. Proper exercise and a few lifestyle changes can help you beat the odds.

How Alcohol Weakens Your Bones
Routinely consuming more than two drinks a day can cause irreversible damage to the structure and stability.

Ask the Doctors (10/06)
Arthritis of the Lungs; Arthritis Symptoms; Gout and Aspirin; Osteoarthritis and White Rice Although we usually think of arthritis as affecting the joints, rheumatoid arthritis can affect the lungs (rheumatoid lung disease) as well. It can cause inflammation of the lining of the lungs, which causes pain with …