Dr Langer-Gould said the study did not raise concerns because the drug was already on the market and considered safe. But she told the Times that she worries that patients with mild cases of MS face greater risks from experimental drugs than from their illness.
"What was the rush to treat these patients?" she asked.
Dr Abhijit Chaudhuri a London neurologist, shares her concern. "Patients with mild MS and who are fairly stable generally don't get that bad," he told the Times. "Why on Earth would you go into a treatment trial with the possibility of side effects and complications when you don't expect to get much worse?"
In addition to the unnecessary risks associated with the MS drugs, they are extremely expensive and patients who believe they need the drugs are in effect being bribed into recruitment for the clinical trials.
Although Ms Smith's insurance covered some of the cost of the drugs she was led to believe she needed, the couple still had to pay about $1,000 a month, her husband told the Times.
He said the motivation for entering the Tysabri trial was largely financial, because the neurologist told the couple that as a trial participant, Ms Smith could receive the Avonex for free.
If true, the revelation of the money trail involved in this trade-off may turn out to be the show stopper in the eyes of the jury.
According to the lawsuit's complaint, when Ms Smith's neurologist misdiagnosed her with MS, and recruited her for the study, the doctor was being paid for serving as an "Investigator" in the Tysabri clinical trial.
For information for injured parties go to Lawyers and Settlements
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/tysabri.html
Evelyn Pringle
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
