Improved 25-Foot Walks on Antibiotics

Chart of Kim's 25-Foot Walk Times

Here is a most recent chart of Kim's 25-Foot Walks. The chart is clickable. So if you click on it, a new window should open that has a larger version of the chart that you can actually read.



While the chart reflects significant improvements over the first 6-months of ABX protocol, it is notable how Kim's walks are still improving as we go and that she is closing in on 4 seconds. For those of you who don't have MS, I'd invite you to measure out a 25-Foot course and see how much moving is actually involved in a 4.5 second walk.

Where, When and WOW!

We videorecord nearly all the walks in our kitchen, unless we were traveling. We have measured out the 25-Foot course with a tape that's on the floor between two floor mats. Below are the dates and times of the walks.

Links to video are blue.

Walk Date ______ Seconds

12/20/07 ________ 20.24 (1st appt. at Vanderbilt. Received Scripts for ABX)
02/17/08 ________ 10.53
02/25/08 _________ 9.63
03/03/08 ________ 10.91 (1st video of Kim walking on YouTube)
03/09/08 ________ 16.75
03/16/08 _________ 9.46
03/22/08 _________ 8.59
03/30/08 _________ 8.06
04/06/08 _________ 9.34 (2nd video of Kim walking on YouTube)
04/11/08 _________ 7.81
04/20/08 ________ 10.81
04/27/08 ________ 12.28
05/04/08 _________ 8.97
05/11/08 _________ 7.81 (3rd video of Kim walking on YouTube)
05/19/08 _________ 6.60
05/31/08 _________ 6.50
06/08/08 _________ 5.78
06/15/08 _________ 6.03
06/22/08 _________ 6.16 (4th video of Kim walking on YouTube)
06/30/08 _________ 6.06
07/13/08 _________ 7.72
07/19/08 _________ 5.19
07/26/08 _________ 5.53
08/03/08 _________ 4.72
08/10/08 _________ 5.35
08/17/08 _________ 5.50 (5th video of Kim walking on YouTube)
08/24/08 _________ 4.91
08/31/08 _________ 4.84
09/07/08 _________ 4.62
09/14/08 _________ 5.06
09/28/08 _________ 4.78
10/07/08 _________ 6.03
10/12/08 _________ 4.88
10/22/08 _________ 5.13
10/26/08 _________ 5.10
11/02/08 _________ 5.16 (6th video of Kim walking on YouTube)
11/09/08 _________ 5.08
11/16/08 _________ 5.25
11/23/08 _________ 5.40
12/07/08 _________ 5.03
12/22/08 _________ 5.09
12/29/08 _________ 4.97
01/04/09 _________ 4.50
01/11/09 _________ 5.00
01/19/09 _________ 5.53
02/08/09 _________ 4.91
02/22/09 _________ 4.75
02/27/09 _________ 5.00 (7th video of Kim walking on YouTube)
03/29/09 _________ 5.22
04/05/09 _________ 5.03
04/25/09 _________ 4.69
05/03/09 _________ 4.66
05/18/09 _________ 4.28
05/25/09 _________ 4.72
06/07/09 _________ 4.36
06/14/09 _________ 4.41
07/13/09 _________ 4.57 (8th video of Kim walking on YouTube) NEW
07/27/09 _________ 4.31

I do not have video of the very first walk in December 2007. The idea of doing a regular video of a 25-Foot Walk was suggested to me during February 2008. I will update this post as new videos are added.

Observations

Someone is going to want to know why the first walk is 18 months ago and I'm only getting around to posting it now. We did not know what was going to happen when Kim started ABX and we certainly didn't set out with the intention of posting video on the internet. I think folks ought to have some support for the arguments they make about off-label MS therapies. In my thinking, feeling better the next day is great, but that's not sustained improvement. We have a ways to go, but I think that 18 months of data is a good indicator.

Combined Antibiotic Protocol is working for Kim. It doesn't work for everyone. If it did, everyone would be doing it. But, it's inexpensive, needle-free and has helped some reverse the progression of their disability.

Yes, 25-Foot Walks Matter. What's Fampridine?

It is a big deal to increase your 25-Foot Walk speed. There is a company, Acorda that is in Phase III trails with an oral drug called Fampridine. When this pill is approved it's widely expected that a lot of folks with MS will be taking it. Here's a pretty good article about how Fampridine improves walking ability for some with Multiple Sclerosis.

Acorda's Fampridine trial has two significant outcomes:

35% of Fampridine recipients had improved walk speed.
8% of placebo recipients had improved walk speed.

25.2% average increase in speed in the Fampridine responsive group.
4.7% average increase in speed in the placebo responsive group.

These results are based on a 14 week trial period. I think it is great that 35% of the participants could walk about 25.2% faster. I also think it's interesting that someone in the placebo group was able to walk almost 9% faster. I think that's important, because if ABX was doing nothing, and Kim was trying really, really hard, we'd expect that she might be able to walk about 9% faster after 14 weeks.

After 14 weeks on Combined Antibiotic Protocol Kim's 25-Foot Walk time went from 20.24 seconds to 8.06 seconds. That's a 150% improvement in speed (1.24 ft/sec to 3.10 ft/sec). The kicker is that she's still improving. I'm not saying this to disparage Fampridine. Kim may very well end up taking Fampridine, but I am trying to show that the Combined Antibiotic Protocol has had an impact on Kim's walking that more than rivals the effect of an important MS drug that is being trialled entirely on it's impact on the 25-Foot Walk.

It's Not Just About Walking

We all know that it's not just about walking faster, but it's a component of the issue. We've kept track of other improvements Kim has experienced too and I'd be happy to discuss them if you are interested in knowing more about the Combined Antibiotic Protocol. Ken