Anti-inflammatory drug effective for treating lymphedema symptoms

For more than three decades, Lisa Hanson did her best to hide the unsightly fluid retention in her left leg that caused uncomfortable swelling and made her skin taut and thickened. At 17, when she was first diagnosed with lymphedema, she threw out her shorts and dresses and began a lifelong journey of wearing compression hose up to her thigh and using an electric sleevelike pump every night to control the swelling. Now, with a new treatment in hand, she's actually excited to tell people about this chronic condition, which before, she said, left her feeling like "a freak." "For a long time I couldn't talk to people about my lymphedema without crying because it's something weird and obscure," Hanson said. "Now there is hope for people like me with this disease." Hanson took part in one of two small clinical trials led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine which showed that ketoprofen, an inflammation-reducing drug available by prescription and currently approved by the FDA, can effectively treat symptoms of lymphedema and help ease the daily burden of care. "Ketoprofen restores the health and elasticity of the skin," said Stanley Rockson, MD, professor of cardiovascular medicine at Stanford.…