Patient-led drug trials defy medical establishment

November 26th, 2008 By MARCUS WOHLSEN , Associated Press Writer

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Alan Felzer, right, and his daughter Karen Felzer, holding her son 11-month-old Emmet Harrington, look at a laptop computer in their house in Claremont, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008. Felzer, who suffers from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) or Lou Gehrig's Disease, and his daughter Karen helped lead a patient and care giver web study on the effectiveness of lithium on treating ALS. (AP Photo/Stefano Paltera)

(AP) -- Until last year, Alan Felzer was an energetic engineering professor who took the stairs to his classes two steps at a time. Now the 64-year-old grandfather sits strapped to a wheelchair, able to move little but his left hand, his voice a near-whisper.

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• vlam67 - Nov 26, 2008
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  You get the feeling that it is now illegal trying to survive and beat your illness unless with methods approved by the laws driven by the medicos. Heck, you are not even allowed to die free with remaining dignity without their approval! Plainly, it's their prestige, mortgage and livelihood is at stake, no bright-brainers are allowed to go near their turf-Hippocratic oaths be f*cked!!
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• deatopmg - Nov 26, 2008
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  "Some doctors caution that such patient-led research lacks rigor and may lead to unreliable results, false hopes and harm to patients."
  
  Sounds like some doctors would rather the ill sit on their hands while they die instead of seeking a palliative or cure. However, in the event that they do discover something effective it won't be patentable so it will be ignored or discredited by the industrial medical cartel (which includes the AMA)
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