MS 150 IN TEXAS THIS WEEKEND

MS 150

They are rolling out

from Houston to Austin

13,000 riders

are now

doing it

they are out there in Texas

the temps are about 50 degrees

and they are

"pumped"

with the crowds cheering

and

one thing on their minds:

CURE FOR MS

Laura Roorda is there

she is following her daughter

Shauna and Dixie

via car

and standing at each stop that will be made along this long and arduous trip

yet another year

as

they ride

up hill/down hill

hard riding for the CURE OF MS.

Raising money for research

research that is bringing us closer

closer to

a

CURE

for this disease. 

The research is exciting, including this just in:

Apr 14, 2011

Biogen Idec announced that the experimental oral therapy BG-12 significantly reduced the proportion of people with MS who experienced relapses in a two-year study of more than 1200 people with relapsing-remitting MS. Although its exact mode of action is not known, BG-12 is thought to inhibit immune cells and molecules involved in MS attacks on the brain and spinal cord. The results were announced in an April 11 press release. Data analysis is ongoing and the company expects to provide a full report at an upcoming medical meeting. Another trial of BG-12 is currently underway.


Background: Multiple sclerosis involves immune system attacks against brain and spinal cord tissues. Although its exact mechanism of action is not known, BG-12, an oral drug, is thought to inhibit immune cells and molecules and may be protective against damage to the brain and spinal cord. In an earlier phase 2 study, compared to inactive placebo, the highest tested BG-12 dose led to a 69% reduction in active inflammation on MRI scans from weeks 12 to 24. Side effects (formally known as adverse events) included abdominal pain, flushing, headache, fatigue, and feeling hot. (The Lancet 2008;372:1463-1472).


This Study: The primary goal of the DEFINE study was to determine whether BG-12 could decrease the proportion of participants experiencing relapses and whether the agent was safe and well tolerated. Secondary objectives included assessing BG-12’s effects on the frequency of relapses, disability progression, and disease activity detected by MRI.
Participants were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups receiving different doses, or a group receiving placebo. According to the press release, in both groups taking BG-12, the primary endpoint was met, meaning a significant reduction in the proportion of people experiencing relapses at 2 years. All secondary endpoints were met as well in these groups, with significant reductions in relapse rate, disease activity on MRI scans, and in disability progression as detected by the EDSS, a standard scale that measures disability. According to the press release, adverse events were similar to those experienced during the Phase 2 study (those included abdominal pain, flushing, headache, fatigue, and feeling hot):


Comment: These positive results are the first reported from this large, Phase 3 study of BG-12. Full details and evaluation of this study, and from another Phase 3 study now underway, should help define the safety and promise of BG-12 as a potential therapy for relapsing MS.

This weekend

those bikes

will get a work-out

there in TX

and you never know what Texas weather

will be like,

so those riders will be focused

but one eye will be on the sky

their faces will feel the wind and the sun

and

you can believe

that all hearts

will be in it to win it

for a loved one

and

I know

one loved one

Laura

will be screaming her head off

at the finish line

as

they all cross that line.

BUT

when her daughter and Dixie

make that final

pedal and get to the end

our

warrior

Laura

will have her arms in the air

and her lungs will be just expanding to the

extreme

with tears all over her face

as

yet one more year

as

a strong woman living with

MS

is filled with a grateful heart

that her daughter

is working and pedalling so hard

to find the cure

NOW for her Mom and all those others.

MS is on its way to the history books

and

all of us are ever so ready

for it to be in the past

so that

thousands can be free

of it and its symptoms

and

its disruptions of lives well lived.

MS SUCKS

Texas they say does

EVERYTHING

in a big way!

So then,

you can bet

this ride is

goin to be

BIG

and

greatly successful

enjoy

this you tube

from a past ride

Shauna was there then too!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVSKHgxWZL8&feature=related

><

Follow up on

Lily the Black Bear in Ely MN:

the little cub Jason's body was returned to the

researcher Dr Rogers at the bear center

by the

DNR.

We wait now for their results on the autopsy

(who knows how long that will take)

We'll see.

Meanwhile,yesterday in MN

concerned citizens called the DNR

to report a young bear near the road out there

and they were concerned FOR THE BEAR

perhaps being run over in the road.

An officer of the DNR

was dispatched to the roadside where folks had

pulled their cars to the side of the road

and this young bear appeared lost

but

was NOT threatening.

After an attempt to "scare" the bear to no avail,

the

DNR official

then

SHOT AND KILLED THE BEAR

in front of the concerned citizens.

Let me repeat this:

the bear was not threatening human life,

appeared lost and was near the road.

The representative of the state of MN

wearing a uniform of

the Department of Natural Resources

wearing a revolver

SHOT A NORTH AMERICAN BLACK BEAR

that appeared to be a yearling

DEAD.

The citizens had called out of concern

FOR this bear and its safety

not of "their safety"

and

now we have a DEAD BEAR

and

Minnestotans that have been traumatized

as a result

of this representative of the State of MN.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

As I listened to this on the news yesterday, I was incredulous, I was outraged, I was sick at heart. I listened to the eyewitness accounts of those who made the initial phone call, I saw the bear, I heard from the DNR official.

My mind was spinning.

Do they not have "tranquilizer guns there"

could he not have tranquilized this bear and with assistance safely taken it back into the woods?

Could he not have called the Bear Researcher Dr Lynn Rogers to assist in this matter?

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

The same MN Department of Natural Resources that now has a new man at the top who has decided that he will not sign a bill to

PROTECT THE COLLARED AND BRIGHTLY RIBBONED NORTH AMERICAN BLACK BEARS

FROM BEING KILLED DURING HUNT SEASON?

Perhaps now I am understanding why,

if he allows officers to pull a gun and shoot a bear that is lost but of no threat to the public beside the road.

MINNESOTA IS IS TIME TO WAKE UP, TO TAKE A STAND FOR THE

NORTH AMERICAN BLACK BEARS.

There are more than 20,000 bears there

and less than 20 that need your protection

for research and education

in Ely MN.

Ethical Hunters would not kill a radio collared/brightly ribboned black bear,

the new man at that DNR

says

hunters can't see collars and ribbons?

and

I say

if hunters cannot see that

in low light conditions

it is too damn dark

to pull your weapon and take a shot

and any moving thing in the woods then.

BuT

yesterday's action of a representative who is paid by the State of MN

has shown through careless action

that it is past time

to

STOMP

to send letters, flood the desks of those in power

to examine what is happening

at the MN DNR

and to

get a law

in place before the next hunt

to

PROTECT THE NORTH AMERICAN BLACK BEARS

who are

RIBBONED/COLLARED

NOW

and

for generations to come

and

for the research that is humane and

protect them from killing.

It is also past time

to examine

those working for the state

and

how often

"THEY PULL THEIR WEAPON"

and kill wildlife

for the sake of killing

when

assisting them to safety

is the proper and humane course of action.

STAND UP PEOPLE

It is time to write letters to legislature to get a law passed

and to let your voices be heard

and demand

Protection of the precious few

Radio Collared and brighly ribboned

North American Black Bears.

Perhaps it is also time

to ask

that the DNR be looked into as well since they

seem to need some addtional training in when to fire

a loaded weapon and kill a lost or confused bear standing near a highway vs. lead or tranquilize it to get it back to safety!

Governor Mark Dayton  Office of the Governor

130 State Capitol
75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155
Telephone: 651-201-3400
Toll Free: 800-657-3717
Minnesota Relay 800-627-3529
Fax: 651-797-1850

 

Respect of all living things

seems to be forgotten.

The fire is burning brightly, the embers are hot, thoughts on the winds of healing, of hope

and

of those willing to take a stand.

Our hearts go out to all in Pulaski VA devasted by the recent Tornados and those in the South

who are reeling by the effects of the Tornados as well.

Walk In Beauty

DRSES

author of

Healing Heartaches, Stories of Loss and Life

http://www.drsherryeshowalter.com/