Symptom Free Does NOT Equal Healthy

On Friday, 10/03/03, USA Today reported that the presence of certain antibodies in the blood may signal the development of rheumatoid arthritis years before symptoms begin.

That's the conclusion of a new study published in the October, 2003 issue of Arthritis and Rheumatism, which found one-third of people with rheumatoid arthritis had antibodies, called anti-CCP antibodies, in their blood long before they ever felt the first symptoms of the disease.

Add rheumatoid arthritis to the list of illnesses that start without producing symptoms. What other diseases does rheumatoid arthritis join?

We all know heart disease is the "silenkiller" and that heart disease advances for many years before symptoms develop.

What about diabetes? Also true that most people with diabetes have no symptoms until the disease has advanced.

And the list goes on and on including cancer, MS, liver diseases, circulatory problems, eyesight and hearing deterioration.

The purpose of the public knowing about all these conditions is that there are predictive tests for early detection. Unfortunately, not much is accurate (case in point with arthritis in that only 1/3 tested positive for the marker) and even if detected early, the only sensible recommendation is lifestyle change.

The Bottom Line

We know the body often begins to break down silently and relentlessly until conditions become bad enough to produce symptoms. While detecting health problems early makes sense, especially when it comes to nerve system problems, what makes even more sense is to embrace a healthy lifestyle to promote health rather than simply to combat illness after the fact. And, when was your nervous system last checked?