To kick-off National Autoimmune Disease Awareness Month, the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) released a report on the current state of autoimmune disease (AD) and its economic and social impact globally and in the U.S. The summit is taking place today, March 3, and unfortunately I was not able to get to the site in [...]

There is a wonderful show on A&E about psychic kids. I love this show and I’m glad to see it because it encourages kids to accept the gifts they were given and find empowerment, acceptance and more importantly, no fear. Sometimes we know that we know unfortunately, because we are encouraged to be [...]

I cannot plan anything. Really, I can’t. Last evening I was supposed to attend a “Girls Night In” dinner party with friends. We were all to bring a dish — one of our favorites — and the plan was to sit, eat, talk, laugh and drink. Needless to say, for me [...]

The other day I received some sad news about a young girl who lost her battle with lupus. Like me, she too had lupus nephritis. For the past few days I have been asking myself why it is that me, the old fart, is still around when so many younger than I are [...]

Many years ago a friend told me to take echinacea to ward off colds. I tried it one time and was worse for wear afterward. I kept the herb around for a long while, in my cabinet to never be seen or heard from again — so I thought — as a reminder [...]

According to a study from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, short-term, high-dose cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan) appeared equivalent to the traditional lower dose monthly regimen for moderate-to-severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The study randomized 51 patients with active disease to the traditional cyclophosphamide regimen or to 50 mg/kg daily for four days, stratifying them according to organ system [...]