excellent post, Leslie! You raise a very good point - if autoimmune diseases occur more in women than in men, why is this not studied more? You'd think that it would contain some valuable clues to the nature of the disease.
I agree completely with your that it is likely caused (at least in part) by the inherent sexism in the medical field. Of course, many people roll their eyes when I start talking about sexism and medicine (usually, the people who roll their eyes are men). Most women nod in recognition and it's certainly well supported by many studies. All you have to do to prove your point is mention heart attack symptoms in women and how for the longest time, the medical field didn't know that they can be different than heart attack symptoms in men. Case closed. 'Scuse the rant...
Anyway! It's another reason that we should get much more comfortable with calling ourselves feminists and continue to ask questions about equality in medicine.
Thanks for making me think!
Great post! Love the questions your piece asked. Definitely thought provoking. I'd love to include this in a Weekly Link Roundup on my blog, Chronic Curve, if it is alright with you!
Well, that is 100% off from what I have always found with RA! Not saying you are wrong, it just sure doesnt feel that way as a man with RA. I have RA, Sjogrens, Reynauds and PsA. If only my lottery tickets were as lucky as my genes. As a man with these auto immune issues, I would say the RA world is skewed 99% towards women. Nearly all the ad campaigns, tv, docs office pamphlets, supprot groups etc are targeted at women. I have never been asked for my take on RA or asked to be in a survey or study because I am a man with RA. I rarely even see another man at the Docs office or the infusion room. I truly wish they could find a cure to this horrid disease, but I really dont think that more men with the disease would make any difference in research. I think we are more in the shadows due to the fact its not a disease you can see in a crowd, and there are no celebrities out there pushing for a cure for it.
Good point, Brad...no celebrities pushing for a cure.
There has been a ton of research on breast cancer, and some marvelous strides made in treatment. I am happy about that. Most breast cancer patients are women, although some men do get breast cancer.
Breast cancer seems to be the disease getting all the attention these days. You don't hear much about RA, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, Lupus, etc etc etc
I think it is up to us to bring RA to the attention of lawmakers, like you did when you visited Washington. We thank you for that.
I don't want to identify myself as a victim. I am not a victim of anything. I just happen to be a person with RA. Yes, it is difficult to find a good RD. Yes, the drugs are expensive. But the thing is, I know a lot of people who have other diseases that are not any better off than we are. We are one human family, and we need to focus on things that bring us together, not things that divide us.
Blessings,
V
Thanks for the post Leslie. However in the last few years there has been a lot of focus on autoimmune diseases among research scientists as well as initiatives taken by different pharma companies. The problem with diffferent autoimmune diseases is identifying specific targets in oyr body against which drugs can be developed. Research is going on in full swing to develope drugs against already identified targets. Many of them are in diffferent phases of clinical trials. Researchers are closing on MS and we can hope to see some good drug in the market soon. Nature :Rheumatology is a good journal to consult from time to time.
The problem with the identified biological targets of these diseases are that they often are proteins or peptides that belong to a big and complicated biological network connected to various functions of human body. Hence tweaking such targets can create a lot of side effects which lead to ultimate failure of the drug in the different phases of clinical trials.
Take for example the most common group of biologics we take for our RA. They are anti-TNF. That is they block or inhibit the action of Tumor Necrosis Factor(TNF). TNF, besides being an important player in the Inflammation pathway, also plays an important role in the first line defence against tumor formation. It has also other important functions in the human body. This is the reason why patients on long term anti-TNF biologics need to undergo cancer screening tests at a regular time intervals.
Let us all cross our fingers that we identify better targets for our drugs for which
the side effects are minimum and we see drugs that cure the diseases and just not modulate it.
Hurrah too our wishful thinking!!!!!!!
Ratnapriya
I think you make some valid points, Leslie, but I do see a lot of research being done in this area, and I do not think RA is being studied less than it should be because most of the patients are women. Of course, I could be wrong. In my opinion, it all comes down to money.
Thank you for making me think.
Peace,
V
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Yes, I'm a feminist and no, I don't believe it's a dirty word. I still love my husband and son with all my heart and soul. The world is just very different for women.
I've read (and I really wish I could cite exactly where) that the majority of medical research is done on men. Likewise with clinical trials. Why? Because they have stable hormones and don't throw that wildcard into the research. Similarly, women have different heart attack symptoms that men do, thus frequently failing to receive the treatment we need. The medical research field is still male-dominated as well. We have men treating men and using men in clinical trials and we wonder why women aren't getting the care we need?
Women are too busy. We've got to be the mom, the wife, the maid AND the career-driven perfectionist because to be anything less makes us feel like we failed to achieve true equality. My neighbor was recently discussing with me the fact that she'd turned 31 and was trying to decide if she was ready to balance having a career with having a baby. When was the last time you heard a man ask how he should achieve that balance?
That said, I think hormones (or the lack of them?) might be helping to trigger my RA as I approach menopause. I suspect it's a factor, at least for me.
Glad I'm not the only feminist aroud here! :)