Posted by Velinda on February 18, 1999 at 22:08:27:
In Reply to: Diabetes with a capital "D" posted by Ellen on February 18, 1999 at 19:35:43:
I have worked for several not-for-profit organizations including The Arthritis Society. When we write about the condition/disease of diabetes, we do not capitalize the "D", similarly, when The Arthritis Society writes about arthritis, we did not capitalize the "A". When we refer to an association or organization, it become appropriate to capitalize the "D", i.e., "The Canadian Diabetes Association", or "The Arthritis Society". However, arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, malaria, influenza, stroke, cancer, etc., do not require capital letters, whereas AIDS (since it is an acronym) or Parkinson’s (since the disease is named after a person, i.e., proper name) would both be capitalized. It would seem that, for once, diabetes (with a small "d") is not the object of discrimination - simply subject to the proper use of English (with a capital "E"). Hope this is helpful.