Non-football related stuff that really makes your day

[SeattleLionsFan]

What great timing Marko! Ms. SLF and I are in the midst of sugar free September, lol!

Thank you again though. I can naw wait to get eat and stare at it for a month!

[Panoptes]

I have relapse reitting ms...just when u thinkyour kids don't appreciate my elder daughter does this.,..[LIST=1][*]AnneMarie Catalano shared a link. [*]5 hours ago[*]Hi everyone,

I am excited to announce our upcoming event at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga. Live in concert with Karl Wolf, Craig Smart and Arash!!
We are expecting a turn out of 5000 people and over 150 vendors!
The event will be adve...rtised on CP24 News, Z103.5, over 20 TTC buses across the GTA, billboards among the busiest highways in the GTA, Facebook and more!

We are also proud to announce that Jam Fest will be donating 50% of all sponsorship proceeds to the MS Society of Canada and we are asking for your support in the research and future health of MS patients.

Can you imagine…
Having multiple sclerosis means that one morning you may not be able to walk when you wake up. Or that you may suddenly have impaired vision. Or that your memory will fail you for no apparent reason. The symptoms of MS are many and vary for everyone. It’s estimated that approximately 55,000-75,000 men and women in Canada have the disease, and every day about three more people are diagnosed.
…a future without MS
We’ve created our own fundraising event to help the MS Society fund research, advocate for change, and help people with MS and their families. The MS Society is the only national voluntary organization in Canada that supports both MS research and services. Proceeds from this event and others like it provide support and services to help those living with this disease, their families and caregivers. They also fund research with three primary goals: to find a cause and cure for MS, repair nervous system damage caused by MS and stop MS attacks. By supporting us, you too can make a difference in the life of someone with multiple sclerosis.

Mr. C,

Just read this today:

Researchers see success in trial for first generic MS drug, paving way for more development

For the first time, a generic version of a popular drug for multiple sclerosis (MS) was found to be safe and effective— which may set precedent for generic drug development for MS patients.

In new trial results presented Friday morning by the Cleveland Clinic, researchers studied a group of 735 patients with relapsing-remitting MS for nine months. The double-blind trial compared the popular MS drug Copaxone with a generic version. In both treatment groups, a comparable number of patients were free from disease activity and the disability was stable. Currently, there are no generic drugs available for patients with MS.

According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, relapsing-remitting MS is a form of the central nervous system disorder characterized by clearly defined attacks of worsening neurologic function. Patients experience attacks, often called relapses, followed by partial or complete recovery periods, or remissions. About 85 percent of MS patients are initially diagnosed with this form of the disease, compared to 10 to 15 percent who have progressive forms.

Copaxone works by tricking the immune system into not attacking the nervous system, which is one of the characteristics of MS. The medication has been effective and well-tolerated, but while it controls the abnormal immune response— which is true of all currently available medications for MS— there is no cure for the disease.

The findings are significant because drug costs are a sizable portion of the cost of MS care, lead study author Dr. Jeff Cohen, director of the Cleveland Clinic Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis, told FoxNews.com.

“Now that several [medications] are going off patent, it gives the opportunity to develop generic versions,” he said. “MS medications, like for a lot of diseases, are very expensive, so the hope would be these generics would provide alternatives that are equally safe and effective, but at a lower cost… to both payers and patients.”

Because clinical trials are costly, Cohen noted that the conditions under which they’re conducted are an important issue in the development of generics. Requirements for testing should neither be too relaxed— which could jeopardize benefit or safety— or too stringent— which could become too expensive, disincentivizing companies from developing generics, he said.

“Unlike what are so-called ‘small’ molecule [drugs]— aspirin, acetaminophen—for large, very-complicated molecules [in MS drugs], relatively small changes in how they’re manufactured conceivably could make a major difference in either safety or benefit,” he said.

Researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to show efficacy of the generic drug. Typically, testing for new MS drugs includes MRI, but also requires more patients and a longer study period— all of which are costly. Because MRI is able to detect MS activity in a very sensitive way, researchers believe it is sufficient for generic drug testing. The European Medicines Agency (EMA), allows MRI testing alone, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not.

“If you held generics to the same standards [as a new drug], it would be too expensive, there’d be no incentive for a company to make,” Cohen said. “The whole point of a generic, ideally, is to have less testing and to be priced lower. Using MRI as an endpoint in a generic study for a drug already existing might be sufficient.”

The study was designed in discussion with the EMA, but because the FDA has yet to release its final policies and guidance on complex generics, the next step with these findings is unclear, Cohen said. If the results are approved by the EMA, the generic could be available in Europe in the next year, but for the U.S., the timeline is less certain.

Researchers hope their findings will encourage other scientists to develop generic drugs for MS treatment.

“[We] hope as generics become available as a reasonable alternative, it will increase the availability of treatment,” Cohen said. “…Hopefully this will lead to some cost savings.”

[Desert Lion]

I taught my then 13 year old daughter to golf. Other than a one week golf camp, and going out with me to a real course twice since June 2013, she made her high school team as a freshman and competes against other schools Junior Varsity. After TWO matches, she shot a 55 and 45 and was promoted to the Varsity Team today. First Freshman ever to make Varsity golf at her school. Damn near in tears I am so proud of her.

[Tony G]

I taught my then 13 year old daughter to golf. Other than a one week golf camp, and going out with me to a real course twice since June 2013, she made her high school team as a freshman and competes against other schools Junior Varsity. After TWO matches, she shot a 55 and 45 and was promoted to the Varsity Team today. First Freshman ever to make Varsity golf at her school. Damn near in tears I am so proud of her.

[LionsFanInJapan]

Good stuff, DL!

[Panoptes]

A moment to be proud of indeed D.

[YT]

Congrats DL!

[bimmer84]

Whoa! Good job little lady.

[Marko69]

Excellent news, DL. And on the day St Andrews open their course to women! Tell her to get over here and be amongst the first women to play the old course. That'd be an awesome trip for her.

[Malto Marko]

[DanO]

Good job Renell.

[Angeleyes]

For those of you that are following my school progress, here is an update: I am starting my 2 week break, and I made the Deans list again (5 classes this time around). I have earned my Diploma this time around but I am going for 1 more year for my Associates and then get a job to put my 2 degrees (medical billing and coding, and medical administration) to use.

On another note I got a job, not in the field that I am going to school for, but it will allow me to start paying off the student loans early. It's an overnight shift and I love the paychecks, but these hours every night is starting to get to me. I have the option to go to days, but I won't do it as I don't want to take the pay cut for the shift differential that I am getting.

[Desert Lion]

Great to read AE. Always nice to see someone in their early 30's going back to school and getting their degrees. Wish I could do that. Will be one of few regrets in my lifetime.

[Panoptes]

Getting a phone call from Desert Lion to shoot the chit today made my week.

Hang in there D.

[DanO]

Great job AE.