General/Health Sites with an Arthritis
Section
These
websites have only portions that are relative to arthritis but
may be of interest.
Commercial Sites with a Section on Arthritis
Government/Education Sites
with a Section on Arthritis
Arthritis-Related Patient Organizations
Other
Bobcats
Commercial
Sites with a Section on Arthritis
About.com
(arthritis)
This highly useful site links to hundreds of arthritis-related
articles and other web sites including book reviews of both Dr.
Theo's books and a direct link to his website. Reviews by the
Arthritis Foundation are included, but some are outdated.
America's
Doctor
This site is "user-friendly" and includes many links to arthritis
resources.
Dr.
Koop et al. (arthritis)
This site includes a large section on arthritis, easily understood
by the lay public. It rates other arthritis web sites and provides
links to them.
Health
A to Z
This site is very straightforward and easy to use to obtain a
variety of general information about arthritis.
iVillage
or altHealth (arthritis)
This general health site provides links to arthritis documents,
but these appear to be only a small component of the site and
the research base is limited.
Johns
Hopkins University Medical (arthritis)
This highly useful site is well organized into health zones and
feature areas making it easy to access information on arthritis
as well as other health and wellness topics.
Medline
and other medical searches
(Included
in Healthgate - a general medical site)
Healthgate has mostly lay information on major medical topics.
The site has free access to Medline, the most comprehensive way
to search for published medical literature on any aspect of medicine,
including arthritis. There are other searchable databases available
as well. Searching for an abstract or article usually leads to
a technical article that has been published in a medical or scientific
journal.
MedicineNet.com
U.S. board-certified
physicians and scientists provide the information for this site
and recently launched medterms.com; an encyclopedic dictionary
for medical professionals as well as anyone interested in health-related
topics. They provide a long list of links to other health and
medical sites. In the near future, they will add a feature called
"SmartMed Centers" which will allow interactive options such as
viewer discussion groups and questions to the doctors.
Medscape
One of the largest medical news and search sites for lay and professionals
alike. Full text documents for some of the articles can be retrieved,
but only after you sign up for a free membership (I guess so they
can keep statistics on you).
NutraSanus
Natural
Health Herbal, Vitamin and Nutritional Supplements information
guide for health conscious consumers.
Pulsed
Signal Therapy
PST is currently in the process of being evaluated by the FDA
for use in the US PST is not available yet for humans in the US
(but is for animals). It is available in several other countries,
including Canada, Mexico, Germany and France for treatment of
arthritis and soft tissue injuries. There are several well-designed
studies documenting its effect. Dr. Theo often recommends this
treatment.
WebMD
This general medical site includes links to arthritis articles
and related topics.
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Government/Education Sites with a Section on Arthritis
Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality
American
Medical Association
The AMA site contains articles from Journal of the American
Medical Association, the consumer-oriented AMA Health Insight
Web site, and more.
Centers
for Disease Control & Prevention
This large website with multiple topics focuses primarily on the
prevalence, morbidity and mortality of diseases (including arthritis)
as well as national trends for these diseases.
Food
and Drug Administration
The
FDA's Special Nutritionals Adverse Event Monitoring System
This FDA site allows you to search for side effects and drug interactions
on almost all dietary supplements. Type glucosamine OR chondroitin
in the search window to see if there's any problems reported with
the brand you're taking. Unfortunately, there's a tremendous problem
with the information on this site. Click here
to find out more.
Healthfinder
(HHS)
This site is "user-friendly"and provides links to other resources
and websites for arthritis organizations.
Med
Help International
Med Help is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping
patients find information. The site contains a variety of patient
message boards.
Medicare
Web Site
Medline
Plus
This is the consumer-oriented site of the National Library of Medicine. It provides access to
MEDLINE, the library's index of medical literature.
National
Institute of Health Osteoporosis & Related Bone Diseases National
Resource Center
This site deals with metabolic bone diseases. Arthritis is not
one of the related diseases addressed other than an explanation
of the major differences between osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.
National
Institutes of Health
National
Library of Medicine
National
Women's Health Information Center
This general health site provides limited arthritis information
but gives links to arthritis topics and resources.
USA
food and drug administration homepage
A great resource for government information regarding adverse
effects from drugs and supplements, legislation, bills and laws
pertaining to the dietary supplement industry, etc.
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Arthritis-Related
Patient Organizations
American
Behcet's Disease Association
Sponsored by a non-profit organization, ABDA's site hopes to help
locate and provide support and education to people with Behcet's
Disease, their families and the medical community.
American
Fibromyalgia Syndrome Association, Inc.
AFSA is a non-profit organization dedicated to research, education
and patient advocacy for fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), chronic
fatigue syndrome (CFS), and myofascial pain syndrome (MPS). Their
primary goal involves funding research.
American
Lyme Disease Foundation, Inc.
This site is disseminates
information about the prevalence, prevention, diagnosis and treatment
of Lyme disease. This includes the progression of symptoms from
early to late stages of the disease, which may eventually result
in arthritis-type symptoms. Information on other tick-borne diseases
in the U.S. and a variety of health-related links are also provided.
Ankylosing
Spondylitis International Federation
An International site out of Belgium. Other than a very general
home page with information in English, the remainder of the site
is in Flemish (I believe).
Arthritis
Canada
This comprehensive Canadian site provides 5 major links to The
Arthritis Society, Canadian Rheumatology Association, Canadian
Arthritis Network, Cochrane Musculoskeletal Group and Arthritis
Health Profession Association.
Arthritis
Care (UK)
This site from the UK defines itself as "a registered charity
committed to: Empowering people to take control of their arthritis,
their lives and their organization." They refer to support groups
and educational resources primarily in the UK.
The
Danish Organisation for Youth with Rheumatism (in Danish & English)
This site out of Denmark offers limited information on the disease,
support groups meeting and and contact people, membership and
their magazine.
Ehlers
Danlos National Foundation
This site provides educational information and resources Including
access to a newsletter and support groups throughout the nation.
In addition to information exchange, EDNF desires to support research
in the field of connective tissue disorders.
Ehlers
Danlos Support Group (UK)
A separate entity from the EDNF (above), this support group provides
information for ordering books from the UK support group.
European
Lupus Erythematosus Federation
E.L.E.F. Lupus Internet page provides basic information about
Lupus and has a membership of 15 countries.
Fibromyalgia
Association of Greater Washington
This association provides medical and resource information on
fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). Besides educational and research
information, the site offers community connections.
Finnish
Rheumatism Association
This small site provides brief information on the disease and
where to find support, counseling and rehabilitation in Finland.
International
Osteoporosis Foundation
This comprehensive site includes a membership of over 40 countries.
Provides information ranging from defining osteoporosis and offering
prevention strategies to links to other helpful sites.
International
Still's Disease Foundation
Referred to as "the Major site on Still's disease" by the Still's
Disease Home Page (below).
Lupus
Foundation of America
This site provides education about Lupus, a section of commonly
asked questions, research and resource & referral information.
Lyme
Disease Foundation
Lyme
Disease Network
Myositis
Association of America
A non-profit organization provides this site to help people with
inflammatory myopathies. These generally fall into the categories
of dermatomyositis, polymyositis, inclusion body myositis and
juvenile myositis. The site gives educational information and
support services and well as information about their newsletter
and annual conference.
National
Association for the Relief of Paget's Disease (UK)
Provides education about the disease and treatments, resources
and links to other sites.
National
Ankylosing Spondylitis Society (UK)
This site provides answers to commonly asked questions about A.S.
and gives practical advice in a positive format. It lacks links
to other websites, however.
National
Marfan Foundation
People who have Marfan's syndrome and their families founded this
site and voluntary foundation. They provide information about
the condition, connections to support services and medical care
and support research.
National
Osteoporosis Foundation
This comprehensive site provides education and resources for both
the patient with osteoporosis and the health professional. The
site includes sections about advocacy, membership, donations and
their online store.
National
Osteoporosis Society (UK)
NOS states that it "is the only national charity dedicated to
eradicating osteoporosis and promoting bone health." The site
provides education and resources, connecting people to their network
of 100 support groups across the UK.
National
Sarcoidosis Resource Center
This site was founded by Sandra Conroy (who has Sarcoidosis) for
patients with the disorder. Provides education and support resources.
Norwegian
Rheumatism Association (NOR)
Norway's largest voluntary organization for the functionally disabled
with 50,000 members. Provides education and resources with multiple
international links.
Psoriatic
Arthropathy Alliance (UK) for Psoriatic Arthritis & Psoriasis
The site is dedicated to raising awareness and helping people
with psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis. Includes patient focus
groups case histories, and pictures of disorders as well as education
and links to other sites.
Reflex
Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association of America
Brought to you by RSDA, a non-profit organization founded to increase
awareness of RSD/CRPS. This site provides education, resources
and even a video to help support research into the cause, treatment
and cure of the disorder.
Repetitive
Strain Injury (UK)
This site is informative for learning about RSI which they define
as "-- an umbrella term covering all kinds of work-related injuries
to the muscles, nerves, and tendons of the upper limbs" (Examples
are tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome). While their list of
resources is only in the UK, the links they provide are more international.
Scleroderma
Foundation
This comprehensive site provides education and research information,
as well as connections to regional chapters, support groups and
many other web sites.
Sjogren's
Syndrome Foundation
This site includes educational material about the disease, and
provides connections to treatment centers, international and other
medical associations.
Spondylitis
Association of America
This site supports the organization's goals toward self-help information
and networking opportunities, as well as public awareness programs
to promote early diagnosis, and funding of research for AS. Links
are provided to additional resources and websites.
Swedish
Rheumatism Association (in Swedish)
Sorry, unable to interpret or translate this site into English.
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Other
American
Podiatric Medical Association
Aspirin-
want to know all about it?
This Scientific American piece is excellent.
Canyon
Ranch Health Resorts (www.canyonranch.com)
The #1 health resorts in the world. Dr. Theo sees patients here.
You must be a guest staying on site in Tucson to make an appointment
with Dr. Theo.
Complete
List of Acronyms in Rheumatology
This list will help you decipher the meaning of all of those funny
abbreviations.
Dr.
Andrew Weil's Integrative Medicine Site
Answers many general health questions and has a good referral
feature for finding various practitioners.
Health
Care Providers
See who Dr. Theo recommends.
Medical
conference list
Find out where the next medical conference is being held in almost
any area of medicine
MedPrompt
This company provides
a service where digital pagers "remind" you when to
take which of your medications. This may be most useful for older
patients or those with complex medication schedules. After participants
give Medprompt their information, the company sets up the pager
to "beep" you when you need to take a pill. The written
messages include any special medication instructions and there
is no charge when your prescription or dosage changes. While the
cost of the pagers typically ranges from $1 to $2 per day, there
is an initial set-up fee of $24.95. Health insurance agencies
often cover the cost. Medprompts toll free number is 1-800-321-7455.
National
Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Vioxx
and Celebrex Resource Center
Up to date information
about these drugs and their side effects. Legal resources to aid
for those who have had serious problems from these drugs.
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