Rheumatology experttalks on arthritis

More than 100 different types of arthritis affect more than 66 million people of all ages, including children.

To learn more about this painfully significant health issue, attend a free lecture from 7-8 p.m. tonight entitled “Arthritis and You,” offered by Camino Medical Group. The presentation will be given at the Sunnyvale City Council Chambers, 456 W. Olive Ave.

Jeffrey Brown, M.D., a medical group rheumatology expert, will discuss what causes arthritis, how to spot it and new advances and treatment for the disease. He will also talk about lifestyle changes that can help arthritis sufferers manage pain and increase mobility.

The lecture is free but reservations are encouraged. To reserve your spot, call (408) 523-3295 or visit www.caminomedical.org.

Forum addressesnational issue

Avenidas and the Palo Alto League of Women Voters are co-hosting a forum Saturday to discuss “No Child Left Behind.”

From 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Terry Moe, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and chairman of the Stanford Political Science Department, and Deborah Stipek, Stanford’s dean of the School of Education, will examine how well the federal program is working.

The free forum will be held at Avenidas, 450 Bryant Street in downtown Palo Alto. For more information, call Ginger Johnson, 289-5425 or go to www.avenidas.org.

Benefits, risksfor bariatric surgery

High blood pressure appears to decline and remain low after bariatric surgery, and blood pressure drops the most among patients who had untreated hypertension before the procedure, according to a study in the March issue of Archives of Surgery.

A second study published in the same issue finds that patients older than 60 and those who undergo a certain type of aggressive procedure that involves removal of parts of the stomach and small intestine, known as a duodenal switch, have an increased number of complications following bariatric surgery.

“By reducing weight through bariatric surgery, serious health problems including high blood pressure and even diabetes, can be resolved,” said Pamela Foster, M.D., director of El Camino Hospital’s Weight Loss Surgery Program. “Second, because complications can occur, it is important to carefully consider the surgical approach and the patient’s age, as well as other factors when determining who will be a good candidate for this type of surgery.”

Last year the number of bariatric surgeries performed to induce weight loss in the United States increased 21.8 percent to about 171,200, according to the American Society for Bariatric Surgery.