Fwd: [Spotlight_ldn] found the goat serum article from times online....

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 01/25/2004 4:30:43 PM Eastern Standard Time, alison@... writes:

anuary 25, 2004 Goat serum jabs help MS victims towalk againNick FieldingPATIENTS suffering from multiplesclerosis (MS), the incurablewasting disease, have experienceddramatic improvements in theircondition after taking part intrials of a drug derived from goatserum. Some have reported being able tocast aside their walking sticks andwalk for miles, or of regainingtheir vision or finding they canagain use their limbs after yearswhen any movement was agony. Of the130 patients on the trial, 85%reported big improvements with noside effects. Among them is Edmiston, ofSouthsea, who was diagnosed with MSin 1988. ´At the time of my firstinjections 15 months ago I was usingwalking sticks and sometimes awheelchair. I started this treatmentwith no expectations but it has beenastonishing,¡ he said. ´I am 500% better than I was. I canwalk for several miles withoutsticks. I'm much stronger andgenerally healthier. And you have toremember that we have always beentold that there may be remissions,but that the progress of the diseaseis unstoppable.¡ The success of the trials hasstarted to gain internationalrecognition with Alan Osmond, one ofAmericaÿs leading campaigners aboutthe disease, traveling from the USto take the drug. Osmond, the eldest member of theOsmonds singing group, who wasdiagnosed with the disease 17 yearsago, said: ´When I heard about thetreatment here I decided I wouldhave to come and see for myself.¡ MS is the most common chronicdisease of the central nervoussystem in young adults, affectingmillions of people worldwide. Mostcases are diagnosed between the agesof 20 and 40 and famous sufferersinclude the cellist duPré, the actor Pryor,director Forbes and Tory whip Maclean. An often progressive disease of thecentral nervous system, MS occurs inthe brain, the optic nerves and thespinal cord. Though slow in itsonset, in time it may producetremors, partial loss of sight andparalysis. The new treatment is being pioneeredby a team of scientists and doctorsled by Professor Angus Dalgleish, anoncologist based at St ÿshospital, Tooting, south London, whobelieves it will at worst provide ahighly effective subjectivetreatment for MS sufferers, but maylead to a long-term improvement. The treatment, given as a weeklyinjection, is derived from purifiedserum from immunised goats thatproduce antibodies. Three separateclinical trials are now beingconducted. Normally it would have taken abouteight years and about £80m to get anew product to this stage. In thiscase it has been achieved in threeyears, having cost so far about £5m.Dr Maizels, a family doctorfrom Chiselhurst in Kent who hadbeen treating patients in the´informed consent¡ trials for thepast three years, said he had neverseen anything like it. ´I want to emphasise that this isnot a placebo effect. Theimprovements are sustained and thereare almost no side effects. At timesthe results are amazing,¡ he said. The trials, the first of whichshould be completed and analysed bythe spring, will confirm whetherthere will be new hope for MSsufferers worldwide. ´Being positive is the key thing,¡said Osmond. ´Itÿs not the diseasethat beats you, but the lack ofhope.¡[image]