A few additions

I thought I would add that I found Dr. Brodsky's discussion of the difference between HiCy and a Autologous (patient stem cell donor) or Allogeneic (second person donor) Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation very interesting. He made a very convincing case that HiCy was not only more effective but much safer. Autologous BMTs are problematic because some of those pesky white blood cells are always getting in there with the stem cells harvested from the patent. This means that the body doesn't forget that it thought Jenny's muscles were an enemy. Allogeneic BMTs are problematic in that they often cause graft-versus-host disease. The more I learn about HiCy the more I think this is the way autoimmune diseases will be treated in the future. All other drug options just treat the symptoms and attempt to slow the rate the immune system does damage. HiCy works by actively restarting the immune system.

Another item we learned is that Copaxone (question #7 below) is only used on MS patients and Dr. Brodsky didn't see any reason to use it on Jen. It would have meant daily injections following the HiCy so we didn't argue with him.

I know this procedure sounds horrendous but compared with what cancer patients go through this is going to be much easier on Jenny. The faster we can get Jenny off the drugs and into remission (no matter how short) the better.

The figure shows Jen's CPK (aka CK) numbers for the past 2 years. As I mentioned in my first blog this is a measure of the rate Jen's muscles are being broken down by her immune system. Normal is typically below 300.