Popular Science has an interesting article about advances in auto-immune drugs for Diabetes Type I treatment:
The perfect immune-modulating drug would target only the part of the system causing the problem. As of now, however, most immunosuppressive drugs work by dampening the entire immune system, which leaves the patient susceptible to short-term problems like infections and long-term afflictions as severe as cancer.
The new drug successfully kept most of the trial patients producing insulin at the two year mark. That is good news. The bad news…. that was 2001, and a drug you or I could be prescribed is a “couple years away”. That is too slow. I don’t know how much of the slowdown is bureaucracy, how much is science caring more about science than patients, funding, or just plain being hard – but I know that 3 of those obstacles could be eased.
I’ve tried one of the new Rheumatoid Arthritis drugs that suppress the immune system, but stopped due to side effects. Something that kept the body from attacking my joints, but didn’t keep it from fighting the flu would be pretty useful.
September 7th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
If you want an education on FDA judgment of drugs, invest in any company developing drugs that must be “safe and effective” over a long term. Think thalidomide for teratogenicity and neuropathy. Whatever else it is, the process of proving a proposed drug or treatment meets the standards is hard.
September 7th, 2010 at 11:24 pm
we’ve learned enough to do it faster.
Cronically ill Non-pregnant woman and men should be able to try any medicine they want. And drug companies should be able to offer it to them with limited liability.
September 8th, 2010 at 7:23 am
We use the principle of informed consent for consumers, not mere caveat emptor. Medically uneducated consumers would have no good basis for judging the risk and benefits for a proposed remedy. How would you structure a system that reasonably allows and protects, and why do you think we don’t already have such a system? The desperate can go to countries that don’t have our protection standards and take their chances with the uncontrolled advertising of miracles.
As for speed, although we have better infotech, we have also learned a lot about longer term side effects whose judgment cannot be rushed.