Fifty years and holding.

Fifty years is a long time to wait. Fifty years ago Eisenhower was still president, the internet didn't exist, the US hadn't gone to the moon, and Lupus patients didn't have a good prognosis. Well . . . as of July 20th serious progress has been made for Lupus patients. See the following for the full press statement from the Lupus Foundation of America:

http://www.lupus.org/webmodules/webarticlesnet/templates/new_empty.aspx?articleid=2657&zoneid=99

But, while this is some seriously wonderful news, it does have it's fall backs. The drug (Benlysta) still has the third round of testing to complete, and if you noticed in the article it has only met "most" of its secondary criteria. Honestly, that is no big deal as most drugs do not hit all criteria at once. Eh, it's called a combination of drugs to hit full parameters of 90 percent or more (you should not that not all drugs need extra help, but those for specialized frameworks usually do). So . . .

This ray of hope is indeed welcomed news, but the realist in me must remind myself that A) third round testing has to commence and complete and B) the FDA has to approve it. FDA approval times on drugs other than Viagra . . . abysmally slow. So in the meantime, we must hold on for about another year to see the clinical trial through, and then (if you are like me) barrage the hell out of the FDA for quick and expedient approval.

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