A close family member has rheumatoid arthritis so I found your article last week very interesting. The person in question has been on the new Abbott-manufactured Humira drug for the past two years.
It has literally changed her life and increased the quality thereof considerably with no adverse side affects.
For anyone with internet access, go to www.abbott.com or www.RA.com for more information.
For those who do not, Humira is like no other RA drug in that it's not in the usual disease modifying or non steroidal anti inflammatory categories.
Humira uses DNA technology to prevent the cells in the joint from releasing harmful chemicals that cause inflammation and pain. The drug is self injected once a fortnight and is available in Ireland on prescription.
Regards, Paul O Sullivan, Mountcharles, Co Donegal.
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On the Move
Dr Brendan McCann has been appointed as consultant in emergency medicine to Waterford Regional Hospital.
This is the second permanent Accident and Emergency consultant post in Waterford Regional.
Originally from Tramore, Co Waterford and an alumnus of CBS Tramore, Dr McCann graduated from UCD Medical School in 1989.
He completed a training programme in general practice in the south east in 1994, undertook a master's degree in sports medicine from University College Cork in 1996 and achieved an MRCP (UK) in 1998.
From 1999-2002 Dr McCann was a specialist registrar in emergency medicine in Merseyside and was seconded at various times to the world-renowned Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool, Children's Hospital (Harvard, Boston) and traumatology in Waterford Regional Hospital.
He gained his Fellowship of the Faculty of Accident and Emergency Medicine in 2002. He is married to Dr Annaliese O'Sullivan of Wexford, a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and a member of the Irish College of General Practitioners.