'Sarah's Smile,' an Internet-Based Holiday Giving Initiative from Bayer Corporation and Aleve, to Benefit Juvenile Arthritis.

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MORRISTOWN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 30, 2000

A new Internet corporate giving initiative will help four-year-old Sarah Windham of Summerville, South Carolina and thousands of other children who cope with juvenile arthritis.

Bayer Corporation will donate $1 to the Carolinas Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation each time anyone visits www.aleve.com and clicks on Sarah's picture.

The gift will help a little girl who has struggled with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) since she began walking at 12 months. It also will benefit research for juvenile arthritis, a disease that touches more than 300,000 children across the country. Overall, arthritis and related conditions affect nearly 43 million Americans, or about one of every six people, making it one of the most prevalent diseases in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control estimate that by the year 2020, 60 million people will be affected by arthritis as the baby boom generation ages.

No one knows the cause of JRA, but the disease involves abnormalities of the immune system. JRA can alter growth and cause joint damage and inflammation, although, fortunately, permanent damage to joints is less common in children than in adults who have rheumatoid arthritis.

Sarah's problems began around her first birthday, when her mother noticed that her first steps were taken with a slight limp. By 16 months, Sarah's right knee was sore and swollen. Blood tests and X-rays concluded that the child suffered from pauciarticular rheumatoid arthritis, a form of JRA that can affect up to four joints at a time. Doctors at the Medical University of South Carolina's Division of Rheumatology and Immunology confirmed the diagnosis.

Because people who have rheumatoid arthritis also can have eye inflammation and jaw problems, Sarah receives interdisciplinary care that includes working with her pediatrician, pediatric orthopedic surgeon, orthodontist and ophthalmologist. The good news is that her disease is now in remission. However, the strong medication that Sarah takes could have adverse side affects if taken for an extended period, and so the future course of her disease is uncertain.

But for now, she's a happy, active little girl who loves to take ice skating lessons. And since her diagnosis, her family has worked and fought hard so that Sarah and others like her can one day look forward to growing up without the fear of the pain ever returning.

"We're delighted that Aleve(R) has undertaken this important initiative," said Lisa Werneck of the Arthritis Foundation. "The funds donated will be cause for many, many smiles."

To learn more about the Bayer "Sarah's Smile" giving initiative, visit the Aleve Web site at www.aleve.com.

For information on the Arthritis Foundation and its efforts to raise public awareness about juvenile arthritis, visit www.arthritis.org.