So the results of the Lithium Trial have been released. Andrew (Research Nurse at King's College Hospital) called Roch the other day to tell him. The trial has been a failure. There are no benefits to taking lithium in the treatment of MND. You know, it's strange. No matter how many times we said to each other over the past two years that we weren't pinning our hopes on it, that we really didn't think it would come to anything - now that we know it won't help Roch, that participating in the trial didn't have any health benefits, such as slowing progression - I'm still disappointed and so is he. I wasn't expecting a miracle cure. But it seems we both had a smidgeon of hope, that somehow lithium might slow the monkey down. Another win for the monkey.
I know that in terms of the bigger picture, all research is helpful. Knowing that the trial was properly conducted and not flawed in any way and having discovered that lithium is useless in the treatment of MND - well, they can tick that box and move on. It's not time wasted for them. It does feel like time wasted for Roch, though. Two thousand, one hundred and ninety tablets later. We don't know yet if he was on lithium for the eighteen months of the trial. But he's been taking it for the past five months, for real, while we waited for the results. That's a lot of tablets.
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Hi Deirdre
ReplyDeleteMy husband was also on the lithium trial and got the same call from the National Hospital. He too was down yesterday even though we could see there was little benefit.
I think he was more down about the wasted journeys to London - all that effort, getting the train and, lately, me driving. The consultant running the trial at the National is obviously a very clever man but has no people skills whatsoever which again grates when you think of the time we spent with him.
But we've got to stay positive. Like you say, they've ticked it off and can move on to the next trial.
Helen x
Trophos trial was with the same effect; no change, no benefits to MND patients. We hoped so much for a better results.
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