Hi Ewizabeth, thank you.....and....

nooooo, dear....just because you "feel" better off meds, doesn't mean you won't have "silent" lesions forming...

The Tysabri label states in part: "TYSABRI® is indicated as monotherapy for the treatment of patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis to delay the accumulation of physical disability and reduce the frequency of clinical exacerbations."

I pray your neuro is smart enough to see you are failing the older MS meds and gives you the opportunity to experience the best MS med in over a decade!

Best of luck tomorrow,
(((hugs)))
Lauren

It doesn't always hold true, Lauren, There may be no lesions on MRI, with many symptoms and great disability, and then there may be many lesions with no disability.

But, if Tysabri does lower the risk of exacerbations, that has to be a good thing. It does have a (what did XO say) 10% better efficacy rate at reducing exacerbations, than the CRABS.

The Jury's still out on it being better than fried rice, though, since, just like the crabs, the majority of PWMS will not respond favorably to Tysabri.

Good luck and Best Wishes,

Am I close on that, XO?

Wow Sally, not even close but, thank you for your post...
I did not say "are not" silent lesions forming, I said "does not mean there won't be", as anything is possible with MS, i.e., nothing is "concrete"....you are actually talking "apples and oranges"; when I was going by what Ewizabeth stated: which "implies" she is having more lesions causing more symptoms (lesions are the scarring that is interrupting the nerve signal due to myelin loss/damage", thus the disability.
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/What%20is%20MS.asp

Not sure if you are terribly misinformed or what Sally, but please, let me enlighten you re: Tysabri....there is no if when it comes to it's proven 68% superior efficacy...here is the New England Journal of Medicine's (where some of the most highly respected unbiased medical opinions in the worldopined: "Results Natalizumab reduced the risk of sustained progression of disability by 42 percent over two years (hazard ratio, 0.58; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.43 to 0.77; P<0.001)....Natalizumab reduced the rate of clinical relapse at one year by 68 percent (P<0.001) and led to an 83 percent reduction in the accumulation of new or enlarging hyperintense lesions, as detected by T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), over two years (mean numbers of lesions, 1.9 with natalizumab and 11.0 with placebo; P<0.001). There were 92 percent fewer lesions (as detected by gadolinium-enhanced MRI) in the natalizumab group than in the placebo group at both one and two years (P<0.001)." Volume 354:899-910 March 2, 2006 Number 9

Furthermore...Wrong again Sally, see the PROVEN DATA recently released: TYSABRI® Demonstrates Improvement in Cognitive Function (http://www.elan.com/News/full.asp?ID=910099); TYSABRI® Demonstrate Significant Reduction in Steroid Use and Hospitalizations (http://www.elan.com/News/full.asp?ID=913012; TYSABRI® Has Sustained Effect on Relapse Rate for up to Three Years (http://www.elan.com/News/full.asp?ID=910437); TYSABRI® Improves Quality of Life (http://www.elan.com/News/full.asp?ID=840112).

Kinda difficult to argue with proven data, Sally..plus I happen to like "fried rice" alot, and I'd venture a guess that alot of others do too!

Best wishes to you also.

Lauren

I'm not as "Misinformed" as you think I am, Lauren.

Read the thread link below, especially what XO, Our resident Trial Study Guru, and re-inform yourself.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=2333

Been there, done that, and please don't roll your eyes at me or the published data (that borders on rudeness)..and I don't need to re-inform squat, you are more than welcome to believe whatever TRIAL guru opinions you want to, but if you start posting falsehoods, as in your ealier post, I won't hesitate to point them out for ALL to see.

Good evening to you.

Lauren

Lauren,

I saw my neuro today and he said I could have Tysabri if I wanted it, but he offered me other options too. I am going to test for the Tovaxin trial and hope to be accepted into it.

Another option he offered was double Copaxone, which has showed good results in a recent trial, so if I don't get into the trial I might take that route.

I hope you do really well with Tysabri, keep us posted!

Temper temper

Be careful about talking about Tysabri in such absolutes. The overall results of the trial were very good, but the best case will not be the experience of all patients.

This board is more for talking, less about arguing or stomping off indignantly, Lauren. Doing that eliminates the opportunity for dialogue.

Well, it seems that despite the marketing/sales efforts of Biogen/Elan and the hype that is being created by some with this drug, the financial world (and that is what big pharma is all about) is being far more cautious as is demonstrated by this press release yesterday:


Like I've said many times, it will take about a year of general MS population use before we start to see any meaningful results from Tysabri.

Harry

And then there is this article found on Braintalk, to consider:

Reuters article of reluctance to use Tysabri

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By Toni Clarke

BOSTON, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Doctors are proving more leery than many had expected about prescribing the multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri, which was relaunched in July after being suspended because of safety concerns.

Over the past month or so, analysts have drawn down their 2006 sales forecasts as it becomes clear that doctors wary of the risk of the rare but potentially fatal brain disease PML are reserving the drug as a treatment of last resort.

The drug, which is made by Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and Irish partner Elan Corp. Plc (ELN.I: Quote, Profile, Research) (ELN.N: Quote, Profile, Research), had been expected by some analysts to generate sales this year of more than $100 million, but those figures have dropped dramatically.

Ian Hunter, an analyst at Goodbody stockbrokers in Dublin, said on Monday that he has cut his full-year Tysabri forecast to $25.7 million from $78 million, in part because of continuing safety concerns and the complexity of reimbursement systems in Europe.

A survey of 63 neurologists conducted by Reuters Primary Research indicates that in 2006 Tysabri will be used in less than 1 percent of multiple sclerosis patients -- translating into revenue of under $30 million.

Since July, only 47 of more than 8,500 patients treated by the physicians surveyed by Reuters had used Tysabri, even though more than 700 patients had discussed using it, according to the report.

And more than 75 percent of the patients who had used Tysabri prior to its 2005 suspension have decided not to use it since its reintroduction, the survey showed.

In taking the rare decision to allow a withdrawn drug back onto the market, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was partially influenced by calls from patients who said they were willing to take the risk of contracting progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or PML, because of the potential benefits of the drug"It turns out in real life that a lot of patients and doctors are taking a wait-and-see attitude," said Ben Weintraub, author of the Reuters survey.

About 250,000 to 350,000 Americans have been diagnosed with MS, a degenerative disease of the nervous system that can lead to muscle weakness, blurred vision and, ultimately, disability. Many benefit only partially from current treatments, which include Biogen's drug Avonex.

Tysabri's ultimate sales potential will depend, to an acute degree, on whether there are any more cases of PML, analysts say. Most of the respondents to the Reuters survey said they would stop using Tysabri altogether if two new PML-related deaths were associated with Tysabri.

"Most people say its going to be a $1 billion drug eventually," said Steve Brozak, an analyst at WBB Securities. "But more time is needed. Time buys you information." (Additional reporting by Paul Hoskins in Dublin)

© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.

Hey Lauren, For the record, I was not rolling my eyes at you for your exuberance or the published data, but only at your rude assertion that I was grossly misinformed.

Sorry Sweety, come back and talk to us. I am truely interested in seeing you do well with Tysabri.

Hugs,