European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 21, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse New worx Tolmei it. Charles Christian of the Hospital for special surgery in Manhattan works with an arthritis patient. Also a livelihoods Industry affects twice As Many women As men. Though Rheuma ology does not attract the lat incomes that some High technology medical specialities do Christian said that it is a profession on the March. The demographics of America people living longer wearing out their Points assure that arthritis will keep coming through his door. It you randomly surveyed people Over the age of 60," Christian said you d probably find 30 to 50 percent of them have at least had an incident with which is a mild form of arthritis. Certain life style changes that Batter the body feed the condition. The new ethic of fitness seems to be promoting it especially among weekend athletes Christian said. The number of things doctors can do for arthritis has rown greatly Over the last two decades Christian pointed out. Today there Are drugs that Are not Only effective but Lessen the number of doses needed to As Little As once or twice a Day. But medication atone rarely tames arthritis horrors. Patients often partake of physical or occupational therapy physical aids orthopaedic surgery. Most of us Are wedded to a team says Tim Harrington a Wisconsin Rheum apologist. The Rheum apologist serves As the quarterback of the team. We Call the at Sterling drug on Park Avenue arthritis is a treasured customer. Sterling makes Bayer aspirin. Aspirin the most prosaic drug of All. Has Long been the most popular remedy for arthritis. Drug company estimates in fact suggest that arthritis Relief accounts for anywhere from one third to one half of the $900 million in annual aspirin sales. Some arthritis sufferers gulp Down As Many As 10,000 aspirin tablets a year. 30 a Day. The extra big bottles with As Many As 1,000 tablets Are earmarked Tor arthritis sufferers. It is hard to pinpoint How much drug makers earn from arthritis because anti arthritis products also Are taken Tor headaches trick Knees and the Many other guises of pain. But when one considers All the drugs that ind use in lighting arthritis the Market bulges to something close to $3 billion in retail sales according to analysts. Over the counter sales make up More than half of that total but the swiftest growth comes from prescription drugs. In a sense arthritis is a drug maker s dream the disease never goes away. People stay on new York time for Ann Derauf Arr Trifid a an endless torment drugs Lor decades. All products Are successful even if they Don t work that Well said Dick Hammell product director for Rheum Atlogic and immunologic products Al Smith Kline. This is a disease where improvement is measured in incremental amounts. If someone has 10 joints affected and that can be dropped to eight and the two Are the thumb and the first Finger that can mean a lot of additional motion. So these drugs Don t have to produce it is also a fickle Market. It s hard to develop consumer loyalty to one an Upjohn official said. Some treatments lose their Power after a while. Side elects Are rampant. Everyone searches for the drug that stops the arthritic pain without starting others. It s called the great unsatisfied says Ronald Nordmont an analyst at Paine Webber. Because arthritis is so mysterious a Quarry the drugs that attack it Are a diverse lot. Almost any common drugstore pain reliever is used by some sufferers Bullerin excedrin tylenol. Anacin. Two new drugs Are advil from american Home products and Suprin from Bristol Myers. Over the counter products rang up about $1.6 billion in sales last year. But. A Nordmann s View they Are a fairly mature Market. September 21, 1985 the stars and stripes Page 15
