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Tag: lupus

  • Selena Gomez and Ellen DeGeneres Talk Lupus, Time at Rehab Facility

    Selena Gomez talked with Ellen DeGeneres on Friday about her lupus diagnosis and the time she spent in a rehab facility last year.

    “I read in Billboard magazine today that you have been struggling with, you were diagnosed with lupus, and that you went through chemo?” Ellen asked the “Good for You” singer.

    Gomez explained that she was actually diagnosed with lupus about three years ago, but after hitting a physical and emotional wall in early 2014, she needed a way to recharge her batteries.

    The Billboard article to which Ellen DeGeneres refers also details how rumors spread about Selena Gomez when she entered the rehab facility. Rumors said she was battling drugs and all sorts of demons, when in fact she was merely trying to heal her body from the perils of this disease.

    The two even discussed why Selena Gomez kept quiet about her diagnosis for so long.

    “I think it was just very complicated because I didn’t understand and then that was something that I did want to keep private until my whole life suddenly wasn’t private,” Gomez says. “So, it was my moment. I’m really honestly able to relate to people and I get it.”

    Selena Gomez went on to explain exactly what lupus is (an autoimmune disease) and that it will never go away.

    “It’s kind of one of those situations. You just have to take care of yourself,” she says.

    The Lupus Foundation of America describes lupus as, “a chronic autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body, including skin, joints and organs. With lupus, the body can’t tell the difference between good proteins, called antibodies, that protect the body from foreign invaders, like viruses, bacteria and germs. Autoantibodies end up attacking and destroying healthy tissue, leading to inflammation, pain and damage. More than 90 percent of the 1.5 million Americans living with lupus are women between the ages of 15 and 45, according to the organization Lupus LA.”

    Selena Gomez is determined to not allow lupus to get her down. She has become strong in ways she never imagined possible. Her album, “Revival,” was released Friday, and she considers it among her biggest accomplishments.

    “The roomie/bae loves me (just for us) ? I’m FREAKING OUT. The album is out!!!! Revival!!!!” she captioned this Instagram shot.

    A photo posted by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) on

    Did you see Ellen DeGeneres’s interview with Selena Gomez? Her audience and viewers were treated to a song from Selena’s new album. The former Disney star performed “Same Old Love.”

    It’s likely that Selena Gomez will help raise awareness about lupus, and the struggles those afflicted with the disease experience.

    Will you be checking out Selena Gomez’s new album, “Revival?” It’s Selena Gomez like no one ever imagined.

  • Selena Gomez Resents Drug Addiction Rumors, Has Lupus and Underwent Chemo

    Selena Gomez is resentful of rumors she was battling a drug addiction a while back when she took a break from the entertainment world. The rumors ran rampant for several weeks.

    Instead of an addiction problem, the “Good for You” singer was diagnosed with lupus and was undergoing chemotherapy treatments.

    “I was diagnosed with lupus, and I’ve been through chemotherapy. That’s what my break was really about. I could’ve had a stroke,” Selena Gomez told Billboard about her time away from the spotlight. “I wanted so badly to say, ‘You guys have no idea. I’m in chemotherapy. You’re a**holes.’ I locked myself away until I was confident and comfortable again.”

    The rumors upset Selena, but also served as a catalyst that drove her to work even harder on her music.

    “The hate motivated me,” she said.

    The haters rudely scorned Selena Gomez for her weight gain, too, but she threw that back in their faces by posing nude on the cover of her new album, “Revival.”

    “I was in a bikini and got publicly ripped for being overweight,” she says. “That was the first time I’d experienced body shaming like that. I believed some of the words they were saying.”

    BFF Taylor Swift played a huge role in helping Selena Gomez regain her confidence following this very trying time.

    “Taylor makes me feel empowered, like I can trust new people,” she said. “The way she cares about women is so adamant. It’s pulling me out of my shell.”

    So exactly what is the disease Selena Gomez was diagnosed with? Lupus is a chronic, autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body (skin, joints, and/or organs inside the body). Chronic means that the signs and symptoms tend to last longer than six weeks and often for many years.

    Chemotherapy is comprised of some immunosuppressant drugs that are known to help with the symptoms of lupus.

    Selena Gomez has really have some rough months in the past year. Kudos to her for speaking up about what she’s been experiencing. Maybe those who spread rumors about her or body shamed her will think twice before doing the same to someone else.

  • Selena Gomez: Grandmother Worried About Her

    Amidst rumors that Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber are back together again comes a report about Selena’s grandmother and her concerns about her talented and very pretty granddaughter. Mary Gomez is reportedly quite worried about Selena and her purported diagnosis of lupus.

    “I am very worried about her. I pray to god every day for her – and all the people in our church are praying for her to get better,” Selena’s grandmother said. “Selena is very stressed and concerned about her condition. I am, too. She is too busy. She needs to rest. We all want her to get this under control.”

    No one has ever confirmed that the Come & Get It singer was actually diagnosed with lupus, but many sources have reported as such. Sources close to the singer and actress are among those who say she has the disease and they carry their own share of concerns about their friend.

    “She was so distraught and really freaked out when doctors told her there was no cure and she would have to live with it for the rest of her life. She’s been on meds ever since,” one source explains.

    Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease that occurs when the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues and organs. Inflammation caused by the disease can affect many different body systems including the joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, brain, heart, and lungs.

    While lupus certainly is a concern, it’s rarely a death sentence. There are definitely concerns in Selena Gomez’s case because of the crazy schedule she keeps as an entertainer. People with lupus often have to curtail participation in some of the things they love best. Many are unable to work.

    Selena Gomez was treated at a rehab facility for emotional issues and stress a few months back. That was around the time she supposedly received the diagnosis.

    So what’s your take on Selena’s rekindled romance with Justin Bieber? Is there more proof of that than there is of her lupus diagnosis? The two reportedly spent a weekend together earlier in June in Bieber’s hometown in Canada. BFF Taylor Swift is said to be disgusted over the reunion. Selena and the Biebs have been on-again, off-again for a long time now. Do you think the two will ultimately wind up together?

    If that does wind up being the case hopefully it means Justin Bieber will treat Selena Gomez with the care she deserves. She treated Justin like a king during their time as a couple and in the end the As Long As You Love Me singer failed big time at reciprocating.

    Image via Instagram

  • Diabetes, Alzheimer’s Research May Yield Cures

    A new research project valued at roughly $230 million may yield the answers for curing Alzheimer’s, diabetes, lupus, and arthritis.

    Eight of the largest U.S. pharmaceutical companies are collaborating on the project with the National Institute of Health and the U.S. government to conduct extensive research on Alzheimer’s patients.

    Pfizer Inc., Eli Lilly & Co., Merck, Sanofi, Johnson & Johnson, Abbvie Inc., Biogen Idec Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., GlaxoSmithKline, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. are all participating in the joint effort, dividing the $230 million project costs evenly between themselves and the NIH.

    Upon the estimate that Alzheimer’s victims will triple in numbers by 2015, the U.S. government decided to try and eradicate the crippling illness once and for all. The treatments for – and costs incurred from – the debilitating disease cost the country billions of dollars each year, currently affecting more than 5 million people in the U.S.

    All research for determining an Alzheimer’s cure conducted previously has proven fruitless. Scientists at the top drug companies say that technology and science have not advanced far enough yet for a cure to be feasible. In the last two years, alone, two of the nation’s top companies each lost a substantial amount of funds from unsuccessful ventures into potential treatments for curing the disease.

    Now, the evidence pointing to a possible solution for ending Alzheimer’s has become available, with researchers being able to pinpoint common “biomarkers” in tissue samples taken from Alzheimer’s patients, the keys to finding possible drug targets.

    The NIH says that this first round of research – on Alzheimer’s – is expected to last about three to five years; should it end successfully, there is a very good chance that lupus, diabetes, and arthritis will also be explored.

    However, new advancements in diabetes research has potentially slowed the severe need for studies to be conducted on diabetic patients to attempt to find a cure.

    An associate professor of biomedical engineering at Boston University, Ed Damiano, has joined together with Harvard Medical School assistant professor, Dr. Steven Russell, to develop a bionic pancreas that allows diabetics to live normal lives. The pancreas, which has been tested in groups of both adults and children, has been a success in regulating blood sugar levels without the patient having to inject insulin and keep a constant check on their own levels.

    The “pancreas” has now been developed into something as small as a playing card, according to USA TODAY, checking and regulating blood sugar on its own through a continuous glucose monitor.

    The monitor, which was first controlled by a laptop, is now controlled through an app on the iPhone, which is alerted when blood sugar levels need to be adjusted. The app then signals to the monitor that it needs to calculate how much of the blood sugar-regulating hormones, insulin and glucagon, the patient needs. The pancreas then releases the hormone on it’s own, after being given the necessary amount(s) needed by the monitor.

    Type 1 diabetic Scott Scolnick, who participated in the trials, says that the device has “changed his life,” proving that no matter what or when he eats, his blood sugar will remain at a safe and healthy level.

    Says Scolnick, “It’s been the most freeing experience I ever had in my life.”

    Damiano, whose son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he almost a year old, vowed to his child that by the time his son left for college, his dad would have created a bionic pancreas. Damiano’s son, now a teenager, is about four years away from leaving for college. Damiano says that a promise is a promise, and that his vow to his son is one in which he intends to keep.

    Damiano and Russell hope to have the pancreas approved by the FDA by 2017.

    Main image courtesy @WSJ via Twitter.