This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

At the start of the year there was hope in the shape of Tysabri. As usual MS found this hard to cope with and the deaths on the trial led to a postponement. Later in the year there was a death on the Campath trial which is likely to result in delays.

Monday morning on my train to work I read the paper. Surprise, surprise, MS showed that it will not go down without a fight. A death on the Sativex trial (not MS bit). You just couldn't make this disease up if you tried.

Let's hope that 2006 will be better.

Ian

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0, ... 20,00.html

That's amazing that someone could die from a cannabis based derivative. Personally if my pain ever gets severe enoug than I myself plan on applying for a medical marijuana card so I can smoke the skunk versus spraying it into my mouth. I dont know of anyone who has died from smoking cannabis. There are many individuals who have smoked weed for long periods of time without issue Montel Williams, Woody Harrelson, Tommy Chong, etc...) Montel Williams himself has been smoking it for about 10 years now to ease his M.S. Symptoms. Not only that but for those of you worried about possibly getting lung cancer from smoking too much of it you can rest easy. A study that was published I think a month or two ago showed that marijuana contained a protective enzyme that greatly reduced the chances of a person developing lung cancer while smoking it for prolonged periods of time. It said that a person who smoked marijuana had less of a chance of developing lung cancer than that of a person who smoked regular cigarettes. You can query for that article on google. It was on CNN's webpage when I read it. Anways, my firm belief is that if the drugs you are taking arent working then you should try everything! Whether it be diet, pot, voodoo, etc... Even though some of those things especially voodoo may not show conclusive evideence of being beneficial for M.S. its still important to continue trying. Everything includes risk and what works for some may not work for others. Anyways, that's just my two cents. Keep the faith.

Ian,



A 70 year old lady who had diabetic neuropathy...I suspect this would indicate that she had suffered from diabetes for a fair length of time and thus had developed a number of health related issues before using Sativex. It would be interesting to know if other trial patients that used Sativex suffered from diabetes as well and what, if any problems they may have encountered.

I can assure you that GW Pharmaceuticals will be doing everything possible to show that Sativex had nothing to do with her death and the opponents to MJ will be doing just the opposite.

Harry

In 20 years or so time, science has been able to transform this complex killer autoimmune disease into a chronic, manageable condition. Why does MS lag so far behind?


China's human trials of AIDS vaccine going "smoothly": researcher
Dec 12 2:31 AM US/Eastern

China's human trials of an AIDS vaccine were proceeding "smoothly," state press reported, nine months after the program was launched. The last batch of 15 Chinese volunteers received the vaccine over the weekend and reported no side-effects in the crucial first 24 hours, Xinhua news agency quoted medical officials involved in the trial as saying.

"The first 24 hours are a vital period for observation," the deputy director of the Guangxi regional disease prevention and control centre in the nation's south, Chen Jie, said, according to Xinhua.

"So far, no volunteers have reported ill reactions. They have entered a relatively stable period for observation."

The latest inoculations bring to 49 the number of Chinese volunteers to have received the potential AIDS vaccine since the centre began trials on March 12 in Nanning, the capital of Guangxi province.

"So far the tests have been going on smoothly," Chen said.

With all the 49 volunteers inoculated, the first phase of the three-phase trials has come to an end.

The initial gathering of clinical data from the volunteers will be completed in June next year, after which a decision will be made on whether the centre can go ahead with phase two, Chen said.

The second phase of the trials will test the immune nature and safety of the vaccine, according to Chen.

There have been about 35 AIDS vaccine trials on humans throughout the world, most of which are still in the first phase, according to Xinhua.

In the 24-year history of AIDS, only one vaccine has completed the full three-phase trial process -- AIDSVAX, which was found to be a disappointing failure.

In the latest trial to make headlines, Swedish researchers announced on December 1 that their trial for a so-called DNA vaccine against the AIDS virus was going better than expected.

The vaccine had successfully completed the first phase of tests among 40 Swedish HIV-negative volunteers, the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm said.

"It has been more effective than we thought it would be," the professor and head of clinical testing at the institute, Eric Sandstroem, told AFP.

"We have also failed to find any vaccine-related side effects at all."

Karolinska professor Britta Wahren, who developed the vaccine, also expressed optimism.

"There is every reason to be hopeful, even though the study is not finished," Wahren said.

Brownsfan wrote about AIDs:




I'd say money but the NMSS has spent $500m to date on MS research.

Profile and political pressure. AIDS has some high profile victims - Freddie Mercury, Magic Johnson, Rock Hudson etc. It is also seen as a gay disease and got the backing of high proile gay artists e.g. Elton John etc. It is also a disease affecting babies / young in African states. MS has fewer high profile victims (Richard Pryor being one) and fewer young victims. It's also not perceived as a killer as when it does, the usual expression is died from the complications of MS.

Ian