Summary of research

[bromley]

I love this time of year. The MS Societies have to justify what they have been doing in terms of research.

The 'progress' made by the research funded by the NMSS is set out in the attached link. The NMSS claims that 'These and other leaps forward have made 2005 a momentous year in the fight against MS'.

Has it been a momentous year? It started badly with the Tysabri fiasco which impaced upon other treatment trials. There was a death on the Campath trial and this promising therapy has been given a danger warning. No new treatments have been introduced - still stuck with the four CRAB drugs. To my knowledge the cause of MS has yet to be found. No cure has emerged. If fact much of the research published in the year has suggested that MS is much more than a disease of myelin - it affects the grey matter and looks like it could be a global disease of the CNS.

So not such a momentous a year unless you are one of the manufacturers of one of the CRAB drugs or one of the over paid insensitive neuros.

What does 2006 hold? Maybe Tysabri will be re-introduced in the spring and show that it is effective? There might be some results from the trials of neuro-protective drug trials being undertaken by Neuren. Maybe some of the stem cell treatments will show some real promise.

So in my view 2005 was not momentous in terms of MS research. But 2006 might be be better - I hope!

Ian







http://www.nationalmssociety.org/Resear ... ummary.asp

[HarryZ]

Ian,

So in my view 2005 was not momentous in terms of MS research. But 2006 might be be better - I hope!

Only the NMSS could come up with saying that 2005 was a momentous year of MS research!! They obviously are trying the marketing approach to get people to donate....make it sound good regardless of how bad it may have been!

Harry