11 ms·
It took my savings and 14 years but I’m about to beat arthritis
- gk13131 2y agoHere is the article with no paywall: https://archive.ph/Cwtq3 https://archive.ph/Cwtq3
- shoggouth 2y agoNon-paywalled: https://archive.ph/20240810233702/https://www.thetimes.com/uk/science/article/i-lost-my-job-so-spent-14-years-searching-for-osteoarthritis-cure-d6d69wwxz https://archive.ph/20240810233702/https://www.thetimes.com/u...
- neonate 2y agoAlso https://web.archive.org/web/20240812004600/https://www.thetimes.com/uk/science/article/i-lost-my-job-so-spent-14-years-searching-for-osteoarthritis-cure-d6d69wwxz https://web.archive.org/web/20240812004600/https://www.theti...
- ludston 2y agoIf true, what an amazing discovery.
- ProjectArcturis 2y agoHeadline seems a bit overdone. The drug completed Phase 1 trials. Roughly 14% of successful P1 trials eventually get approved. It'll be probably another 5-10 years before this finishes P3.
- didgeoridoo 2y agoNot sure what article you read. Phase II trials just wrapped up and showed both tolerability and effectiveness, hitting primary endpoints. Phase III is apparently recruiting, which should reveal any showstopper side effects in a larger and more diverse population. It’s realistic this could hit the market in 3-5 years or less. Additional info: https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/british-biotech-levicept-shows-former-pfizer-drug-reduces-osteoarthritis-pain-phase-2 https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/british-biotech-levice...
- pedalpete 2y agoIt completed Phase 2 trials according to the article. I don't know the rates of P2 trials getting to approval, but he's past safety and initial efficacy in over 510 patients (510 seems to have been only the last trial, so doesn't include P1, which would be significantly smaller).
- thomassmith65 2y agoThe title is misleading. It's not a "cure for Arthritis"; it's a pain killer.
- danpalmer 2y agoThis is true, although it looks like in this case it may be more useful than just another pain killer, in that if you can reduce the joint pain, people might be more active, which may help them lose weight, which may reduce joint pain. If it's safe to take long term (reading between the lines, sounds like it might be compared to other pain killers), then it could have lasting impact on patients beyond them taking it, which is a good thing.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- ekianjo 2y agothis is for OA, which means people dont have much joint left in the first place. That is what causes pain. not feeling pain will not turn them into marathon runners
- phailhaus 2y agoNot quite. > The drug is based on a molecule he discovered while working at Pfizer, and can be delivered via a once-a-month EpiPen-style injection, where it restores protective processes to diseased joints and enables the regeneration of affected tissues. It works by blocking a compound that supports the nerve cells involved in transmitting pain signals to the brain. The mechanism might be to affect the nerve cells involved in pain signaling, but the effect is to actually help regenerate tissue.
- thomassmith65 2y agoFantastic, but the title is still misleading. > It is hoped the drug — which is not a cure but will make the condition much less painful for sufferers [...]
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- breck 2y ago[flagged]
- hooverd 2y agoC'mon, it's better than nothing. I'd take taking a drug for life for something like HIV over dying a miserable death from it.
- eltoxo 2y agoIt is an absurd headline but having to take a drug for life is surely better than the pain of arthritis.
- DanHulton 2y agoStrong disagreement, and I think if you'd spoken with any serious arthritis sufferers who are desperate for literally anything, you'd realize how incorrect you are.
- breck 2y ago> if you'd spoken with any serious arthritis sufferers Why do you assume I haven't?
- Just_Harry 2y agoAll type 1 diabetics are being conned?
- breck 2y ago[flagged]
- kbos87 2y agoAnyone who takes a drug every day has had this thought and quickly moved past this narrow point of view. We all want to live long, healthy lives, and whether we like to admit it or not, the human body isn't built to match our modern expectations for longevity. If you plan to live a long and comfortable life, taking multiple drugs every day is in your future. For some of us it comes sooner than it does for others.
- fnord77 2y agoThey had very good, robust Phase II results. Thinks can go wrong in Phase III. Relyvrio (HIV vaccine) did well in P2 but flopped on P3. Cancer drug xevinapant failed in P3 after Merck executives were reassuring analysts that the failure of a phase 3 trial of xevinapant was “unlikely.”
- brianleb 2y agoMy only commentary would be that these results do not read like clinical success, but rather something suggesting they should move on to phase III clinical trials. This is the only publication I found in a quick search: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37976118/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37976118/ >> Abstract Objectives: Nerve growth factor β (β-NGF) is a protein which is important to the development of neurons particularly those involved in the transmission of pain and is central to the experience of pain in osteoarthritis (OA). Direct NGF antagonism has been shown to reduce OA pain but is associated with rapidly progressive OA. The aim of the study is to investigate the ability of soluble neurotrophin receptors in the NGF pathway to modulate pain in OA. Methods: Synovial fluid (SF) was obtained from the knee joints of 43 subjects who underwent total knee arthroplasty. Visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores were obtained prior to surgery. Customised-automated-ELISAs and commercial-ELISAs and LEGENDplex™ were used to measure soluble low-affinity nerve growth factor (LNGFR), soluble tropomyosin receptor kinase (TrkA), proNGF, β-NGF, other neurotrophins (NT) and cytokines including inflammatory marker TNF-α. Results: The VAS score positively correlated with β-NGF (r=0.34) and there was positive association trend with neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), BDNF and negative association trend with ProNGF. sLNGFR positively correlated with VAS (r=0.33). The β-NGF/soluble TrkA ratio showed a strong positive correlation with VAS (r=0.80). In contrast, there was no correlation between pain and the β-NGF/sLNGFR ratio (r=-0.08). TNF-α positively correlated with β-NGF (r=0.83), NT-3 (r=0.66), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) (r=0.50) and negatively with ProNGF (r= -0.74) and positively correlated with both soluble TrkA (r=0.62), sLNGFR (r=0.26). Conclusions: This study suggests that endogenous or cleaved sLNGFR, but not soluble TrkA may participate in OA pain modulation thus supporting further research into soluble LNGFR as a therapeutic target in OA.
- papercrane 2y agoThis is the Phase II clinic study: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05618782 https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05618782 They haven't posted the results yet. They have posted a press release saying the results were positive and that they will post the results in a peer reviewed journal. https://levicept.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Levicept-Clinical-Trial-Results-final-for-distribution-6-August-2024.pdf https://levicept.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Levicept-Cli...
- usaphp 2y ago> It is hoped the drug — which is not a cure but will make the condition much less painful for sufferers > It works by blocking a compound that supports the nerve cells involved in transmitting pain signals to the brain. Unfortunately it doesn't fix the underlying issue.
- ghostly_s 2y agobut the sentence prior says "it restores protective processes to diseased joints and enables the regeneration of affected tissues." I don't understand how it does if it's just blocking pain signals.
- skybrian 2y agoI don’t know about this case, but in general, the body’s reaction to pain sometimes makes things worse, so relieving pain can be part of encouraging recovery.
- robbiep 2y agoDegenerative diseases don’t de-pathologise when you remove their pain
- nwienert 2y agoPathways that remove pain can be due to healing though, it's a mildly positive indicator.
- robbiep 2y agoThis is at best a fallacy with occasional exceptions and in this particular case, just plain incorrect. If it works by 'blocking a compound that supports nerve cells in transmitting pain' it isn't doing anything to correct the pathology. You are, in the truest sense of the way that people naively talk in derogatory terms around modern medicine, 'treating the result, not the cause'
- purple-leafy 2y agoPaywalled. How legitimate is this? As a young sufferer
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- neonate 2y agohere you go https://archive.ph/h1b5G https://archive.ph/h1b5G https://web.archive.org/web/20240812004600/https://www.thetimes.com/uk/science/article/i-lost-my-job-so-spent-14-years-searching-for-osteoarthritis-cure-d6d69wwxz https://web.archive.org/web/20240812004600/https://www.theti...
- aszantu 2y agobeen on an elimination diet for a while, because if I'm not, I get depression and suicidal ideation. I don't have a diagnosis for arthritis, but I'm testing around a lot and maybe this info helps you in your journey: I make gelatine from pig's feet occasionally, when I make it with just salt and some lemon or vinegar, I don't have problems. Last time I thought, maybe try bell pepper, haven't tried for a while and I seem to do okay with capsaicin. Boy was I wrong, within a week I got horrible joint pain in the feet. Bell peppers are seemingly high in lectin and other phyto-nutrients. I recently found on hacker news, that I can neutralize oxolates with a pro-biotic - will try that for lectins next. Have to prepare the gut with L-Glutamine and Silicea. God's speed! Edit: Between ingestion and symptoms, it takes about 3-4 days
- oulu2006 2y agoThis is revolutionary!! truly exciting stuff, I wish I read more about these sorts of breakthroughs monthly....I hope we'll get to this level more regularly with AI biology models.
- Buttons840 2y ago> The drug is based on a molecule he discovered while working at Pfizer, and can be delivered via a once-a-month EpiPen-style injection, where it restores protective processes to diseased joints and enables the regeneration of affected tissues. It works by blocking a compound that supports the nerve cells involved in transmitting pain signals to the brain. So, it restores lost tissue by numbing nerves? This makes no sense. Wonder if it's just poor reporting or if there is something to this?
- agumonkey 2y agoI'm thinking the nerves were negative feedback for the regeneration pathways.
- ramraj07 2y agoIt just takes away the pain, it’s clearly written in the article.
- harshreality 2y ago"...it restores protective processes to diseased joints and enables the regeneration of affected tissues..." "It is hoped the drug — which is not a cure but will make the condition much less painful for sufferers — ..."
- pbhjpbhj 2y agoThe headline is misleading then, it should say "... beat the pain of osteoarthritis". Isn't it weird how you can work on an inherently benevolent endeavour and then present the whole thing on a way that looks like you're trying to con people (and looks unscientific to boot). Marketing really is a scourge.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- zeofig 2y agoThe reporting is functioning as intended, don't worry.
- fsckboy 2y agowhere it says he took all his savings and "beat arthritis": it doesn't appear he has arthritis, he's an entrepreneur who took all his savings and founded a drug startup company with an idea he had around the time Pfizer laid him off
- Cthulhu_ 2y agoThe title is a bit misleading, but technically correct, as in it doesn't say my arthritis. But I'm still going to take it, along with every other headline about medical (or energy) breakthrough with a biiiig grain of salt, as these are often sales pitches to attract investors.
- stronglikedan 2y agoIt's not a misleading title at all. It's the people that infer something the title doesn't state that are misleading themselves.
- 627467 2y agoyeah. somehow I also thought the same, but both interpretations are valid. I felt more irked by the title being in the first person when in fact the article is not written by the person seemingly making that statement
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- cqqxo4zV46cp 2y agoYeah. It’s completely unambiguously slimy. As a result, I feel absolutely zero connection with the author. Guessing that wasn’t the intention.
- ncr100 2y agoNotice the audience -- A national general daily newspaper. > Guessing that wasn’t the intention. No guessing needed. Therefore the article itself is slimy, it is overt, and you are reading it VIA a tech-blog. The slimy idea COULD be valid if there is the belief that BECAUSE this article is linked by a tech-blog (HN), that it is a technical article. The OP, https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=shoggouth https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=shoggouth could be the person you'd want to direct the critque at. However since the mandate of HN is not restricted to tech articles, merely interesting tech related stuff often with an entrepreneurial bent, it is appropriate. So, not slimy in any way. * https://www.thetimes.com/static/about-us/ https://www.thetimes.com/static/about-us/
- ein0p 2y ago> The drug is based on a molecule he discovered while working at Pfizer I can see Pfizer lawyers salivating uncontrollably after reading that phrase. Extremely unwise of him to mention this.
- Cerium 2y agoUntil they read the next part: > On leaving the company, he acquired the intellectual property [IP] rights from his former employer
- VintageCool 2y agoAnd Pfizer is an investor in his company.
- mgarfias 2y agoBeef: it’s a pain killer, not a fix.
- Cthulhu_ 2y agoYeah, it doesn't seem to explain how doing something about the pain receptors is actually fixing the issue; it improves quality of life, sure, but does it fix the cause and repair or avoid damage? That is, if it's only suppressing pain, the people suffering will do more things that may cause more cartilege damage. (disclaimer: I don't know much about arthritis so I may be wrong)
- mgarfias 2y agoUntil I started doing things to help my knees, the stuff I was doing, that I covered with NSAIDs actively made things worse. I’ve had osteoarthritis in my knees since I was 16. At 27 I was opened up and told I had worn grooves through the cartilage and into the bone (I guess that’s why it hurt to ride a bike). Doc told me quite literally to sit on a couch. Instead I took up karate, and the enforced stretching there relieved a ton of the pain. It didn’t fix anything, and i’d still get knee pain when riding a bike (I cut way back) or running, but my every day experience was tolerable. In the past few years I started going to a functional fitness gym, and our coach got me towing a sled backwards- THAT fixed up my knees. Something about it has let my knees repair, and I haven’t had knees that felt this good sinc3 at least 1990.
- gamblor956 2y agoThe drug is based on a molecule he discovered while working at Pfizer On leaving the company, he acquired the intellectual property [IP] rights from his former employer A lot of people don't do this when they leave or are terminated. It doesn't usually succeed, but it's always worth at least making the attempt. (In this case, Pfizer gave him the IP rights to the molecule he discovered in exchange for a portion of his company.)
- DoingIsLearning 2y ago> The drug is based on a molecule he discovered while working at Pfizer. Is Pharma different than Engineering in terms of IP? If my former employer has evidence that what I am working on in a new gig was discovered while on company time using company resources couldn't they sue?
- armini 2y agoIt says he used the money from redundancy to continue with his work. Pfizer would have a hard time winning that case because the discovery was made past their employment. Having field knowledge doesn't make it a crime. Coding is different because it's easier to copy paste functions & classes, it also doesn't help that everything has timestamps. Your best bet is to rewrite everything.
- DoingIsLearning 2y agoMaybe it's semantics, but I understand it was discovered while at Pfizer and further developed post-redundancy. IANAL but it definitely feels like a grey area?
- Digit-Al 2y agoIt's not a grey area at all. The article literally says that he purchased the IP rights from Pfizer, and as part of the deal they got a small stake in his new company.
- encomiast 2y agoDoesn’t the article touch on this: > On leaving the company, he acquired the intellectual property [IP] rights from his former employer…
- ruok_throwaway 2y agoOne thing I learned repeatedly while dealing with a chronic health condition is to never assume that you're "about to beat it". I've had that feeling about 1000 times now, and telling that to my family and friends just made me sound like an idiot, since I would invariably regress again. Now I'm at a point I would only be fine with saying this if I didn't have any issues after a prolonged interval.
- acchow 2y agoThe researcher here does not have arthritis. He is developing a drug to cure arthritis for everyone.
- driverdan 2y ago> He is developing a drug to cure arthritis for everyone. That's not it at all. Read the article.
- socksy 2y agoThis article is about a biotech company that is aiming to reduce pain from arthritis using an injectable chemical (as an alternative to taking ibuprofen every day), whereas I think from your comment it sounds like a personal journey hoping to recover from a chronic health condition (I doubt this is happening any time soon for arthritis, unfortunately).
- Joel_Mckay 2y agoSome do see remission with the modern expensive Biologics, but those only treat the underlying inflammatory condition. The damage to a body remains from the inflammatory cycles, short-term steroid treatments, and pain medications. It is one of my biggest pet peeves seeing folks with "good intentions" spout off about nonsense "cures" for a suite of currently chronic conditions. There are specific gene therapies being researched that _may_ remove the need for heavy medications at _some_point_ in the next decade, but the damage done by the disease will still require joint replacement surgeries etc. Most competent people I've met have zero sense of humor when it comes to this area of research, and would have also fired anyone that mistakes pain medication for a "cure" (unless I misunderstood the press release gibberish.) Have a great day, and please consider starting a fact-checking wiki like snopes to document the ignorant new age nonsense people perpetuate. =3
- feverzsj 2y ago>> laid off More like Pfizer invested in an employee's startup.
- 2-3-7-43-1807 2y agowhat, no garage? he didn't even drop out of college?
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- Renaud 2y agoTangential question: as I now start suffering from arthritis in my hands, I was wondering if there is anything linked to diet that could help reduce it? I had read that fatty fishes were a good source to reduce pain but in your experience, is there any other food/lifestyle changes that can help alleviate it before resorting to medication?
- gglanzani 2y agoAvoid carbs
- Cthulhu_ 2y agoCan you expand on your reply with some sources and / or the science behind it? Just saying "avoid carbs" sounds like oversimplified dietary advice.
- keybored 2y agoWe were asked for dietary advice and GP provided it.
- m463 2y agoI think you're right. I suspect pre-diabetes causes lots of these types of symptoms especially when you're not young anymore, and basically the cure is manage carbs (and exercise)
- adaptbrian 2y ago2nded. Eat foods in a way that can ignite ketosis periodically throughout the month and treat carbs as it's something your allergic to. I have personally (finally after 7 years) started regulating my cluster headaches which is an inflammation problem.
- arnejenssen 2y agoYes, there are no essential carbohydrates.
- DaoVeles 2y ago
- __alexs 2y agoMy cat has the occasional bad arthritis flare up which we give her Solensia (another NGF targeting drug, but via monoclonal antibodies) for. It works incredibly well. Within 12 hours they go from being barely able to walk to being totally fine and mobile again.
- dotdi 2y agohttps://archive.ph/Cwtq3 https://archive.ph/Cwtq3
- lloydatkinson 2y agoMore paywalled content being posted to HN? Ugh. https://archive.ph/Cwtq3 https://archive.ph/Cwtq3
- was_a_dev 2y agoNothing wrong with paywalled content, given its still accessible. Especially in this case where several archive links have been provided
- jjulius 2y ago... so, the day after you asked me why I thought you didn't read the FAQ, you did the exact thing the FAQ asks you not to do? Yeah, I don't feel so bad for assuming.
- lloydatkinson 2y agoYes, I asked again after you tried to derail the conversation away from why paywalled content is allowed. It's also bizzare you've taken to stalking my comments over it too that are over a week old. The timeline is that you replied 4 days ago to the original thread, then 3 days later continue to try enage in arguments with me in another thread. Did you spend those three days festeringly mad and couldn't help but go in for round three? If I made sure every paywalled link posted here had a paywall workaround linked in the comments, would that make you more mad? The FAQ says those links are allowed, but what are your personal feelings on it?
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- notpushkin 2y agohttps://archive.ph/TTul7 https://archive.ph/TTul7
- ChrisMarshallNY 2y agoI really want him to be a success, but... > The drug is based on a molecule he discovered while working at Pfizer tells me that he'd better have good lawyers on speed-dial.
- gcanyon 2y agoFTA, he bought the rights a long time ago. Still might need that lawyer, obviously.
- ChrisMarshallNY 2y agoIf a lot of money is on the table, all kinds of loopholes can exist. You see stuff like that, all the time, with academic research. [EDITED TO ADD] It’s really common for large corporations, with staff counsel, to lodge lawsuits they know they can’t win, because they bet their pockets are deeper, and they think they can force a settlement. Ugly, but it’s the American way. He may have more luck in the UK, though.
- Matticus_Rex 2y agoKeep reading
- ChrisMarshallNY 2y agoI know. Read below.
- Matticus_Rex 2y agoThis is a common deal in this industry, and the terms are fairly standardized. They get a small stake, and usually something like follow-on rights, sometimes more. In this case, Pfizer invested further after that. The big drug companies have a very large stake in making sure departing employees aren't scared of taking this particular deal because they write off a ton of drugs this way, and the only way to profitability on that IP is if someone takes the IP and takes the vast majority of the risk and cost, as this guy has. Don't think I've ever heard of an instance where someone took this deal and got screwed by doing so -- only instances where someone didn't (or tried to weasel out of the deal) and then ended up screwed.
- bilsbie 2y agoHas anyone treated arthritis with diet? I feel way better when I get off processed foods for a few days. (Not sure if I have arthritis but really sore hips and lower back.)
- nordsieck 2y ago> I feel way better when I get off processed foods for a few days. What does "processed foods" mean? Do you eat raw food that isn't combined in any way?
- BlackJack 2y agoProcessed foods usually refers to packaged snacks, food with lots of added ingredients, corn oils, artificial ingredients, etc or fast food/junk food ordered at restaurants/fast-casual places.
- daveoc64 2y agoThere is a classification system for how processed foods are: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova_classification https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova_classification Under that classification, boiling potatoes counts as processing them. Something as minor as rinsing fruit in tap water can count as processing - it could affect the lifespan of the fruit or its nutritional content. Of course, that isn't the only definition out there.
- haswell 2y agoI think most people are referring to the “Ultra-processed” category when they talk about processed foods in a health context.
- snapcaster 2y agoIf a family farm couldn't produce it themselves I try to avoid it. I think this works pretty well as a rule of thumb (and justifies me stilling having beer and wine lol)
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- DataDive 2y agoI used to work in life sciences data analysis. Many times, I met people who genuinely believed they were super close and about to achieve a "huge" breakthrough. In each case, the scientists themselves, in their minds, were absolutely convinced they were on the brink of unfathomable achievements: curing Alzheimers, or some cancers etc. Particularly true for the scientists in biomedical startups - they were like Mulder from X-Files; they all wanted (and were desperately eager) to believe. Like Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos, I think she completely believed her own exaggerations and BS - at some point, fact and fiction merge. Thus I've become extraordinarily skeptical of articles like these.
- supertofu 2y agoAnecdote: I have reactive arthritis comorbid with ulcerative colitis. I was getting debilitating arthritis flares once a month until I stopped eating gluten, peanuts, and added sugar. I haven't had an arthritis flare since eliminating these foods. My rheumatologist wanted to put me on methotrexate but I declined out of fear if the side effects. He never mentioned anything about diet, but clearly a dietary intervention worked for me.
- freediver 2y agoWas hoping to see something that actually helps regenerate cartilage but this seems to be more in the range of a specific pain killer. This looks more promising: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ1CLtc8oIk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ1CLtc8oIk
- martin82 2y agoIf you want to beat arthritis, eat a strict carnivore diet for six weeks. Thank me later.