Call it a gut reaction. That's essentially what the Chicago Tribune did when reporting on a possible link between "the trillions of microbes living and working" inside our digestive systems and rheumatoid arthritis, a "mysterious and painful autoimmune disorder that causes inflammation in the joints." While the paper reports that a smoking gun trigger has yet to show itself, some "emerging research" suggests that our "intestinal bacteria" has the potential to influence our odds of developing certain autoimmune diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis.

It has become abundantly clear that patients with cancer find great value in knowing they are not alone and having active dialogue with other patients. I know it helped me back in 1996 when I was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and continues to help me today. But I am in a great spot in communications and get to meet other patients all the time. Many others hardly know anyone else.

When I was younger, my grandma would occasionally issue solemn prophesies for rain. These declarations would come after she’d spent a few minutes rubbing her arthritic wrists. With a pensive gaze, she’d credit the prediction to her aching joints.

I was reminded of this yesterday. I’d been working on my laptop when my ankle, titanium-braced from an old break, started throbbing. I thought nothing of it until I stepped outside, and into a surprise rainstorm. I’d always been skeptical of grandma’s arthritic omens, but limping down the sidewalk in the wake of my own revelation gave me reason to reconsider. Could science have an answer for why some people seem to feel the weather in their bones?

Dr. Denis Evseenko represents a new paradigm in cancer research

As a boy growing up in Soviet Russia, Denis Evseenko was drawn to the wonders of scientific discovery. Though closed off from many of the resources of the Western world at the time, it was a country that housed its own wealth of scientific institutions and provided a fertile and supportive environment for his inquisitive young mind.

Early in his medical training Dr. Evseenko decided to focus entirely on research into embryonic stem cells, specifically the genesis of mesodermal tissues — a broad definition that includes blood, muscle, bone and cartilage. He was excited about the possibilities inherent in cutting-edge science, but also aware of the often complicated path of translational science. He knew if he were to take the next step, he had to do things differently.

If you’re 18 or over with psoriatic arthritis, you may qualify for this research study.

Qualified participants may:

• receive investigational medication,

• have study appointments with a psoriatic arthritis specialist,

• receive compensation.

As the ticks that spread Lyme disease push ever further into Canada, doctors are starting to notice an unusual fallout from the growing threat: a spike in the number of people seeking help for arthritis triggered by the bacteria.

A new study from Halifax , to be presented at an American College of Rheumatology conference in Florida this weekend, documented 17 child arthritis patients, most of whom surfaced over the last two years just in Lunenburg county.

Few had experienced any other symptoms and most had no idea they had Lyme until, complaining of swollen, painful joints, they were referred to a rheumatologist. Once blood tests indicated they had the infection, some were also diagnosed with related neurological problems.