This e-newsletter is a publication of The Platelet Disorder Support Association. The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only. For advice on your unique medical condition, please consult a health care professional. Contents:
PDSA HAPPENINGSNewsletter: We’re taking the Fall newsletter to the printer tomorrow and sending it next week. It is 16 pages, longer than any previous newsletter, thanks to our sponsors and volunteers. The newsletter will include the following: Highlights from the ITP Conference 2001:Part 2, Lara’s Story: Using Traditional Chinese Medicine to Treat ITP – Part 2; Abstracts of Interest, Your Questions Answered, In the News, and more….Message from the President, Letters, Tip from the Platelet Buddy, Information about the conference…. Our newsletter is sent to everyone who contributes at least $25 per year to PDSA. For more information and to join PDSA go to http://www.pdsa.org/joinus.htm. You can join on-line or send a check or credit card number to PDSA, P.O. Box 61533, Potomac, MD 20859 Conference: Register Now! Our ITP Conference 2002 will be held at the San Diego Marriott Mission Valley, San Diego, CA, June 21-23, 2002. The cost is $75 for non-members and $65 for members. Register before March 31, 2002 and receive a $10 discount. The Friday evening meeting is an additional $15. You can register and find the latest conference information at http://www.pdsa.org/conference.htm. It will be an exciting time! Survey: Dr. James Bussel, Buzz (our VP and survey statistician) and I met to review the preliminary results. We agreed there is tremendous promise to increase the knowledge about ITP treatments with the data we are collecting. We will do a short presentation at Dr. Robert McMillan’s ITP study group meeting at the ASH conference in early December. We will remove the survey from the web site at the end of this year so we can analyze the results. If you haven’t done so, be sure to take the survey. Every answer counts. http://www.pdsa.org/survey/ ETHANOL-INDUCED THROMBOCYTOPENIAIn each issue, the Hem/Onc Today magazine presents a diagnostic quiz. In the November, 2001 issue they described a woman, heavy drinker, who came to her physician with a mouth full of petechiae, extensive bruising and a low platelet count. Sound familiar? After many tests she was diagnosed with ethanol-induced thrombocytopenia. Her alcohol intake had suppressed her bone marrow function and she wasn’t making very many platelets. According to the author, Franklin Bunn, MD, “The most common causes of decreased production of platelets include drugs, particular chemotherapeutic agents…, and toxins, the most common of which is ethanol. For a list of substances that could cause problems for people with ITP see http://www.itppeople.com/warnings.htm PROMISING RESEARCHMacroGenics, a new company in Rockville, MD is developing a promising antibody therapy. “The antibody we're engineering has 10,000 times more potency compared to IVIg, claims MacroGenics' CEO and president Dr. Scott Koenig, based on animal studies. In addition, he says, the company's product presumably will be safer and cheaper than IVIg and may work in patients for whom IVIg fails. It probably will be administered as a shot, rather than as an intravenous infusion like IVIg, which can take several hours, he adds.” For more information see: http://www.washtech.com/news/biotech/13648-1.html (Thanks to John for sending us this news item) NIH FUNDINGDr. Claude Lenfant, NHLBI Director stated that the NHLBI (National Heart Lung and Blood Institute) is operating under a continuing resolution until Congress approves the budget. Regarding the FY 2003 budget, Dr. Lenfant stated that President Bush has publicly committed to complete the plan to double the NIH budget that was initiated during the previous administration. For more information see: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/meetings/index.htm. (NHLBI is the institute at the NIH that funds ITP research) HOLIDAY SUGGESTIONSWant an unusual gift for the holidays? Shop the Platelet Store. We have T-shirts, tote bags, zip duffels, vegetable knives, personalized note cards, platelet buddies, and more. Just go to http://www.itppeople.com/store/. Do you shop at Amazon? If you do, just click to Amazon through our site(http://www.pdsa.org, http://www.itppeople.com/, or http://www.itppeople.com/store/) and PDSA will receive 5-15% of your purchase price. You pay no more and PDSA gets a welcome donation. Here’s our direct link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/itppeopleplace Shop IGIVE. If you shop the gap on-line or LLBean, or any one of more than 200 affiliated stores, go to IGIVE first and PDSA will receive 5 – 15% of your purchase price. Links are on the same pages as above or go direct to: http://www.igive.com/PDSA ITP HERBAL TREATMENT(advertisement) Get Well International is a company with over 40 years of research in its products by medical doctors and master herbalists. Dr. Ba Hoang’s medical thesis was on ITP. His supplements Blood-Well and Restor-Immune for ITP have been used successfully for many years. A healthy balanced body produces normal platelet counts. Many users of this program report less bruising, more energy, and platelet increase within 2-3 weeks. It is very cost effective and has had almost no side effects like the normal drug therapies. Information and testimonials can be found at http://www.getwellinternational.com or leave a message at 1-888-522-4372. For information on advertising in our e-news letter contact us at pdsa@pdsa.org. This e-newsletter is published by the Platelet Disorder Support Association, P.O. Box 61533, Potomac, MD, 20859, phone/fax: 1-87-Platelet or (301) 294-5967, web: http://www.pdsa.org/, e-mail: pdsa@pdsa.org |
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