deleder2k
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Lecture by dr Hanne Thürmer, Notodden Hospital
From a lecture given at the local department of the Norwegian ME-association in Notodden, avd Telemark, Norway, February 8th 2016.
Lecturer: Hanne Thürmer, dr. med at Notodden Hospital.
Dr Hanne Thürmer is a senior consultant in the field of internal medicine and cardiovascular diseases, and has been involved in ME since 2009. She is also a member of the Norwegian ME-association’s Board of Medicine.
Here are our notes from the lecture.
It is available here: https://fryvil.com/2016/04/13/lecture-by-hanne-thurmer-notodden-rituxme-and-current-development/
Some interesting points:
From a lecture given at the local department of the Norwegian ME-association in Notodden, avd Telemark, Norway, February 8th 2016.
Lecturer: Hanne Thürmer, dr. med at Notodden Hospital.
Dr Hanne Thürmer is a senior consultant in the field of internal medicine and cardiovascular diseases, and has been involved in ME since 2009. She is also a member of the Norwegian ME-association’s Board of Medicine.
Here are our notes from the lecture.
It is available here: https://fryvil.com/2016/04/13/lecture-by-hanne-thurmer-notodden-rituxme-and-current-development/
Some interesting points:
The RituxME study takes place at 5 centers in Norway, and at Notodden we have patients from Risør to Drammen. A total of 152 patients in Norway are included in the study.
The drug has been used for 20 years, but we must find out whether it is safe for this patient group. It destroys the immune system.
Query: «Are there serious side effects?»
– MabThera (which is the same as Rituximab) has been used for many years. It’s about the same mortality rate as paracetamol. Cyclophosphamide is stronger, but it does not give as many side effects and can be given to the most severely affected. (It is being researched in another study at Haukeland, not in Notodden.)
Query: «How will the approval procedure be if Rituximab proves to be effective?»
– It’s depends a bit on how clear the effect is. If there still are 70 % who improve, the approval may go quickly. This is easier than if it [the drug] were something completely new.
Query: «What about Rituximab for children?»
– Children will have to wait longer, it’s safer for adults. We do not know enough to give clear answers. But we are generally more careful with children because of growth and vulnerability.
Nitroglycerin can be of help, we are testing this in the study of the endothelial function on a blood vessel in the patient’s arm. It helps some patients while it gives other patients a headache. This is something that can be tested, and it is not expensive! It is a spray under the patient’s tongue. In some patients the effect lasts for 3 days! Usually, the effect passes within a few minutes, but the body of ME-patients do not react normally. It is not dangerous to try out nitroglycerin.