This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

IHaveMS-com wrote:



I think anyone in the study could answer this question for you. They don't give us that information. The only information that a patient is given that relates to the study is his/her EDSS. They also tell you if there is anything above or below normal range in your blood profile. Things like cholesterol, glucose, etc.

Since your trial only lasted a year, I was thinking that you might have asked your own neuro to give you an MRI once the trial was over. I know I would be dying of curiosity if I still hadn’t had a look at my MRIs after all these years

Hi Alexisss,

Since your trial only lasted a year, I was thinking that you might have asked your own neuro to give you an MRI once the trial was over. I know I would be dying of curiosity if I still hadn’t had a look at my MRIs after all these years

I went into an extension study about 12 months ago. So, I was part of the dose escalation and safety study for 3 years. I never did a personal MRI during that time.

I have MRI film from when I was diagnosed, but that predates being in the study by a couple of years. Since I do not have a baseline MRI from just before starting the study, getting an MRI done now and comparing it to film that predates the study by more than 2 years would not be a worthwhile comparison. I am sure there was significant damage done during those 2 years.

Anyone who is accepted into the next study or anyone in the current study who thinks they are in the placebo group might ask their neurologist to order an MRI. They would have that for comparison in the future.

I think it is not until after the third treatment that the average patient’s immune response is at a protective level. It may be at that point you would want to have an MRI done for future reference, or maybe after the fifth treatment.

I think Opexa is having quite a few MRIs done, so maybe it is yet to be determined as to when the best time to get a personal MRI for future comparison, and this would be different from one patient to the next.

Any MRIs that are done for comparison should be done on the same machine, and whom do you get to do the comparison in the future? It would be nice to have a baseline MRI from just before my first treatment, but I am not sure if I would do anything with it.

My issue is further complicated by the fact that I was in the low-dose group for at least a year before moving into the mid-dose, which is the current study dose. The low-dose was not sufficient to bring the number of MRTCs down to zero or near zero, so there may have been some more damage done before I moved into the mid-dose. I was improving while on the low-dose, but the MRIs might have shown some activity.

I guess I have just answered this question for myself. In my case, it seems too complicated to have privately analyzed changes in my MRIs from the beginning of the study until now. Maybe after Tovaxin is approved, I can find out about any changes.

Ignorance may be bliss. I am feeling fine. If my MRIs showed something different, that might have a suggestive effect.

I think it is about time for Bob to post a picture of Homer Simpson’s brain, and make a comment that my brain is too small of a target to be attacked. d’oh

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My Post -- Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 1:55 pm
Bob's post -- Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 2:01 pm

Wow! that was only 6 minutes

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Hi Bob,

Seems like you could have an MRI done now and it would either show something or nothing

Allow me to take a shot at you.

D’oh, aren't those the only 2 possibilities. Either it will show something or it won't. If the MRI showed a bunch of lesions, no one outside of Opexa would know if they were there when I started the trial or not.

Yes, I am curious, but at this point, I am satisfied that I am no longer having attacks. Like I said, ignorance may be bliss. If my MRIs showed something different, that might have a suggestive effect.

There are many other things that I wonder about. I have been wondering how to finish the little poem: Roses are red, and violets are purple .....

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Ho Ho Ho

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Hi Bob,

Does that mean that you stop and reflect every time before you hit the "submit" button so that the "Best Regards" is actually heartfelt, or are you just saying it?

I think you are one person who realizes that I agonize over every post I make. I probably read them several times as a word document and I read them a couple more times in preview before I hit submit. Although it is good to lighten the threads with a little bit of humor, and I mean itsi bitsi teeny weenie little bit of humor, when I say something about myself or Tovaxin, I want to be correct, as of that moment.

With my best wishes and warmest regards to all who frequent here, Tim

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Lyon wrote:He of little faith. Do you really think I just hang around with an image of Homer Simpson's brain, waiting for the right lead in?

After seeing this picture again, I decide to post this story that is a few months old. I have not seen anyone talk about this here (but I could have missed it).


PS: Bob, during some of your leisurely time, are you sure you are not a freelance writer for the Chinese press?



http://www.acceleratedcure.org:8080/node/2788


http://computerworld.com/action/article ... Id=9028723





D'oh! Homer 'photo' exposes Chinese media piracy
No, it's not a Simpsons episode plotline (yet, anyway)


August 02, 2007 (IDG News Service) -- A photo of Homer Simpson accompanying a genuine article about multiple sclerosis (MS) has exposed Chinese state-run media's penchant for using images without permission.


The article, which appeared on China's official Xinhua News Agency's English news site on Monday, displays text about a new genetic discovery relating to MS, attributed to "agencies." Alongside is an x-ray rendering of the diminutive brain of the cartoon character Homer Simpson, attributed as a "file photo."


Homer Simpson's brain, as it appeared on the Xinhua website
This isn't the first time Chinese media has fallen prey to satire presented to an English-language audience. In 2002, the Beijing Evening News (Beijing Wan Bao) picked up an article from humor site The Onion, stating that the U.S. Congress had threatened to move out of the Capitol building in Washington unless the building were upgraded to include a retractable dome. The newspaper also ran a drawing The Onion had published of the fictional new roof design. Both online and print media in China routinely use photos downloaded or scanned from other sources without proper attribution or copyright permission.


Strangely, publications in foreign languages -- therefore, those most likely to be read by foreigners -- are frequent offenders. Last year, the state-run English-language newspaper China Daily's Web site ran 13 topless images of a female Italian volleyball player, clearly marked both with logos for the magazine Men's Health and an Italian Web site. The spread was considered sufficiently racy to receive a link from Gawker Media pornography blog Fleshbot.


"Despite the foreign-language polishers, the writers and editors who produce English and other foreign-language content for Xinhua and other state-owned media organizations do not have the cultural awareness necessary to avoid errors like the misuse of the Homer Simpson illustration," said Jeremy Goldkorn, editor of the English-language Chinese media blog Danwei.org.

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Lyon wrote:
I've never seen nor heard of that article before but GOSH, they really thought that cartoon was an X-ray or MRI?

Bob

The article made me laugh too when I saw it, and since you seem quite fond of the picture of Homer's brain, I had to post the article on this thread .

Nope, I believe Homer's MRI is one small brain w/ one lesion covering it all.