The Value of Openness: The PatientsLikeMe Blog

PatientsLikeMe was recently one of the sponsors for the 2008 MS Challenge Walk on Cape Cod, a three-day, 50-mile event held on September 5-7, 2008. More than 620 walkers participated, each raising a minimum of $1,500.  Overall the event raised close to $1.4 million to benefit Multiple Sclerosis (MS) education, support, advocacy and research.

The walkers persevered through some very nasty weather during parts of the walk.  Fortunately, the last day was a spectacular early Fall day in New England, as the event ended with the parade of walkers onto the Hyannis common.

We had the chance to talk to  many participants over the course of the three days, and showed them how PatientsLikeMe can help them share their health data and experiences and learn from others. We showed them a public member’s profile to demonstrate how they could use enter treatments, symptoms and outcomes and chart the course of their disease over time.  They were also very excited to see how this information is aggregated in our Treatment Reports.  Whether they wanted to share their positive experiences with a specific treatment, or were looking for more information about a newly considered treatment, walkers definitely saw great value in our treatment report/evaluation system.

This event is also where our MS quilt made its public debut.  The quilt, made up of individual squares created by many of our charter MS members, brings home the support aspects of the site.   It highlights some of the people who have helped create and grow the site into one of the largest and most vibrant MS communities online today, with more than 7,600 members from around the world.  The process of actually creating the quilt also represents what PatientsLikeMe is about:  pulling together patients’ experiences and data in a way that allows both the individual and comprehensive view of the disease.

This was an inspirational event. It was rewarding to learn first-hand from people about the challenges they face dealing with MS, and to offer them a resource where they can find and learn from others going through similar challenges.

Members of our Multiple Sclerosis (MS) community have been discussing this story in the Boston Globe which reports severe adverse events experienced by two European MS patients on the drug Tysabri (Natalizumab). Tysabri is a monoclonal antibody which seems to have a potent effect on MS; the original trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that compared to placebo, MS patients on Tysabri had a 42% lower risk of sustained disability progression over two years, and a 68% reduction in the risk of clinical relapse at one year. Compared to the small and imperceptible benefits from other drugs available at the time, this provided real hope for thousands of patients.

Tysabri was voluntarily withdrawn in 2005, however, after a small number of cases of a rare condition called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). This extremely rare but usually fatal adverse event seemed particularly prone to happen in patients also taking immunosuppressive drugs; part of the standard toolkit in treating MS. It was reintroduced in 2006 but only within a strict protocol to minimize the risk of adverse events.

Since the early days of our MS community, Tysabri has been a hot topic of conversation with several patients reporting that their frequency of relapses had dropped substantially and even that some of their symptoms such as bladder dysfunction had improved too. In total, PatientsLikeMe has 297 patients taking Tysabri, although 35 patients stopped taking it, with the most common reasons being doctor’s advice, side effects, or a perceived lack of efficacy. By recording symptoms on their profile pages, our users inform each other about their experiences with Tysabri. Each patient, then is better informed to make their own decision; and by sharing their outcomes they help the whole community to make an informed choice, too.

The one question on the minds of our MS users is “now what”? A disease like MS is hard to understand for those that don’t have it, it’s an “invisible illness” characterized by fatigue, cognitive problems, and pain. When you have symptoms like this impacting upon your quality of life, how can you make the right choice? Given that nothing in our lives is risk free, what is an acceptable balance of risk between relief from suffering for several years and a small risk of death from an adverse event?

Faced with worsening symptoms, empowered patients educate themselves about the potential risks of any treatment; and along with their doctors make the choice that’s right for them. One of our MS members puts it this way:

I understand those who want the PML issue to be understood because it is a very scary thing, but I said to myself that I’d rather fight back with the strongest drug now instead of waiting for that flare up that one day is irreversible.

That is a person who is trying to make the best health care decision based on all of the available information. The choice is yours and we understand it’s not an easy one to make.

This month marks the two-year anniversary of our flagship ALS community. It’s amazing to reflect on what we’ve achieved in just two short years. Not only did we build the world’s largest treatment and outcome sharing communities for ALS (1,800+ patients), MS (4,500+ patients) and Parkinson’s (1,300+ patients), but this year we began evolving into the powerful research platform we always envisioned we could be.

At the heart of this research initiative are our new community reports, which analyze the makeup of our patient communities. In January, we released our first MS Community Report covering factors such as first symptoms, age of diagnosis, disease type, etc. Recently we released our ALS Community Report, with the Parkinson’s Community Report to follow shortly. You can find the much-anticipated results on the blog as well as the ALS forum.

But that’s just the beginning. Your commitment to collaborative learning has now driven our evolution to the next level. On March 7th, we launched the ALS Lithium Study. As co-founder Jamie Heywood wrote in a recent blog entry, “Today, we allow patients to begin to answer how to treat ALS.” What could be more central to our mission than that? We are delighted to collaborate with Humberto Macedo, a patient, and Karen Felzer, PhD, whose father has ALS, on the study. “Together…we will run the first real-time, real-world, open and non-blinded, patient-driven trial,” wrote Heywood.

The question at hand is: Does lithium slow ALS? With almost 150 patients participating to date, we already have more than eight times the number of participants as the most recent published study about lithium and ALS. Stay tuned as this exciting and unprecedented study continues. As always, thanks to everyone - whether involved in the study or not - for sharing your treatment data. You made this study possible, and we intend for it to be the first of many across our communities. The age of patient-led research is here!

Finally, we are thrilled to announce the March 23rd launch of our beta community for Mood Conditions, which coincided with the New York Times Magazine article, Practicing Patients. If you know anyone affected by Mood Conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) or anxiety, please invite him or her to join PatientsLikeMe today.

At PatientsLikeMe, we believe in getting to know the person, not just the “patient.” That’s why we’ve decided to interview one patient each month to find out more about how he or she approaches life. This month we are pleased to feature FeliciOlivar, a two-star member.

1. What are you thankful for?
I am thankful for being able to walk. That was my worst flare of them all. I woke up one morning and fell right down to the floor. As devastated as I was that my worst fear had come to be, I didn’t let anyone know that I was petrified at not being able to walk or do anything for myself. It was a horrible time for me, but I was determined that I was going to be able to walk again. I’m glad that I can walk even if I do still trip over my own feet. I’m also thankful for the family that stood behind me through that tough time.

2. What do you have in abundance in your life?
I have laughter. If you cannot laugh at yourself, then what are you going to do? I laugh at myself all the time, if I don’t I’ll cry over nothing. The stumbles, the forgetfulness and the anger at my body turning on me after I gave it the best cookie dough in the world, this is the thanks I get. See, you have got to laugh at stuff like a fork flying out of your hand at the most elegant restaurant and running out before the food fight starts. It’s the best medicine.

3. Describe a typical Thanksgiving in your family.
We usually travel home and visit everyone, but this year we aren’t able to do that due to certain problems that have arose (i.e. gas, car repairs), so we will have to have Thanksgiving right here at home (scary since I’m cooking). The highlight is usually seeing my son eat a turkey drumstick. We take a picture every year. I hope he’ll be able to eat one this year without an ambulance ride.

4. What are your interests and hobbies?
I truly, simply enjoy nature. I love watching birds and seeing the pretty ones. Until I lived in a rural place, I had rarely seen all the birds that I’ve seen in the past year. I also like photography. I haven’t gotten a real good grasp on it, but I usually take pictures of the birds that I’m spying on. This would go hand and hand with scrapbooking that I love so much. I don’t do it much now because it’s an expensive hobby. I would like to learn to do needle work like needle point, knitting and crocheting. I like to keep busy.

5. What accomplishments are you most proud of?
I’m most proud of just being a mother. It’s hard when I have bad days, but my son knows why I don’t feel well. This past month hasn’t been good for me going through Optic Neuritis. Having one eye is not easy.

6. What are your top three motivators in life and why?
Prayer, my family and friends (count as one) and the online group that I belong to, The Urban Multiple Sclerosis Alliance. Prayer helps keep me sane. I can’t make it without prayer. My family and friends are there for me no matter what, even though at times I just want to be alone. And the group, well they understand everything I’m going through. It’s a blessing to have someone around and not have to explain what “Coggies” are (cognitive problems). Don’t you just love that nickname?

7. Which PatientsLikeMe patients have you enjoyed getting to know?
I haven’t been posting here a lot so I hadn’t got to know anyone yet, but looking at the message boards, I love seeing someone post about something that I thought only I had to deal with. It’s a great comfort to know that you are not the only one who is not in control of your body or who can’t remember anything about the previous day. It’s great that there is always a place you can go where people just like you (or at least similar to you) exist.

At PatientsLikeMe, we believe in getting to know the person, not just the “patient.” That’s why we’ve decided to interview one member each month to find out more about how he or she approaches life. This month we are pleased to feature jtjackson, a two-star member.

What is your favorite time of the day?
My favorite time of day is the morning, about a half hour after being up (between 6:30 and 7:30 a.m.), having my first cup coffee and thinking about what I can do today. I always have so much energy at this time and feel like I can conquer the world. Usually, reality sets in about 11 a.m. that I really do have MS and I need to slow down and rest (due to fatigue) so I am able to function enough to do the easy stuff.

What makes you laugh?
My two daughters (ages 27 and 17) really make me laugh (belly laugh) when they get to talking about themselves, their lives, people they’ve met - they literally do impressions of all kinds of people, from the abled to the disabled (they call them and me the “special” people), and watching them do their thing really makes me laugh… even at me!

What are people most surprised to learn about you?
Most people are surprised to learn that “what you see is what you get” when it comes to me. I’m down to earth, speak honestly and am pretty straight forward about me/you, my feelings about things, about the true positives of life no matter what cards one is dealt. I think most people are surprised that my life’s tune has really never changed, even though my circumstances have.

How has PatientsLikeMe improved your life?
PatientsLikeMe has improved my life by seeing many people who have similar or not-so-similar challenges “living,” I mean truly living, with this disease. Although I have only been diagnosed with MS for a little over a year, it has brought so many changes and challenges that I have dealt with pretty much on my own, and it is truly nice to have a place where I can share if I want to, or just read what everyone else has to share. I feel so “not alone.” Thank you all for being there!

PatientsLikeMe, the leading treatment and outcome sharing website for people with life-changing conditions, has been recognized by Business 2.0 and CNN Money.com as one of their 2007 “Next Disruptors: 15 Companies That Will Change The World“.

“We are honored to receive this recognition. However, we know we still have much to do in order to achieve our mission of helping patients learn from shared real-world outcomes so we can all contribute to finding the best treatment options,” explains co-founder and CEO, Benjamin Heywood.

PatientsLikeMe has taken an extraordinary position regarding patient data believing that openness and sharing, rather than strict privacy, is the best way for people to take control of their health care, improve outcomes, and accelerate research. The company has its Openness Philosophy posted on its website for anyone to view.

PatientsLikeMe also shares aggregated data from its members in order to share data with the world, recently announcing their data repository in ALS, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s.

PatientsLikeMe, the leading treatment and outcome sharing community for people with life-changing conditions, has released the most comprehensive real-world treatment and symptom dataset on ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Previously, similar real-world information would have had to be mined and aggregated from proprietary sources such as hospital systems or insurance companies. Now, anyone can go to PatientsLikeMe.com and search for a particular treatment or symptom to find out the experience of over 2,300 patients. This unprecedented database includes medication dosage ranges, lengths of time on a treatment, reasons for discontinuation, symptom severity, and other key experience measures on over 1,300 treatments and 300 symptoms. Learn more….

In late June, PatientsLikeMe Head of Business Development David Williams received an email from his high school classmate Bill Ogden. Bill needed help, you see. He and his wife were preparing to take part in the Mid-Michigan Multiple Sclerosis Bike Tour, which covers 150 miles over two days. Bill explained that they were riding in support of one of his old friends John Rafter (pseudonym), who was diagnosed with MS in 2001.

PatientsLikeMe donated $750 towards Bill’s fundraising goal. We salute everyone out there who steps up in support of patients they know and love, not to mention those they’ve never even met.

See the picture of the team with their PatientsLikeMe t-shirts!

At PatientsLikeMe, we believe in getting to know the person, not just the “patient.” That’s why we’ve decided to interview one member each month to find out more about how he or she approaches life. This month we are pleased to feature Joy, a one-star member.

What inspires you?
Everything inspires me. The very scale of life rocks and sways me. A sunset inspires me to find more color in my own life. A bird in flight invites me to find more easy joy and laughter. A tree inspires me to appreciate my roots and my ability to bend to survive and to realize that I only grow more beautiful with age. A flower inspires in me a consciousness of just how beautiful and fragile life can be. My granddaughter inspires in me a belief in the mystery of creation. And my dad inspires in me a belief in myself. My mother inspires in me strength and endurance. And my husband inspires in me a desire to love most deeply. My soul sister inspires in me a genuine and profound trust. My son inspires in me a purpose and reason in life. And my dogs inspire in me a desire to approach each day with excitement and a willingness to accept the gifts of the life graciously. Someone in need inspires in me a desire to give. And when a friend reaches out to me, they inspire hope. Every brush with life inspires me on to the next moment.

What’s the funniest thing that’s ever happened to you?
No one event jumps out at me as funniest. What I remember most are hundreds of moments of belly laughs in my life. The funniest thing that has happened in a while had to do with my underwear, my dog and our visiting kids (my son, my daughter-in-law and our granddaughter). I was folding clothes from the dryer, and my dog stole a pair of my underwear and made a game of ‘chase’ out of it. Everyone was yelling and running, trying to catch him with my pink underwear on his head and wrapped around one leg. “He went that way!” “WATCH out, he’s behind you!” “Wait, wait, I think I’ve got him!” It was funny and embarrassing, but we were all weak with laughter by the time the dog fell to the carpet exhausted. Game finally over.

What is your favorite place and why?
I love to be deep in the forest where it’s quiet and cool. I like to shop so the mall is interesting. Restaurants are a favorite place of mine too. My husband and I discuss the menu, and he orders for me. I feel like his queen when he does. But my most favorite place in the world is home. Home is where I find comfort, refuge and well-being. It is home where I am surrounded by love.

What do you like best about PatientsLikeMe?
I love the ability to graph out MS progression and keep track of all my medications and symptoms. This will come in handy for doctor visits. The graphs are also very revealing in that I can track exacerbations and connect the dots. What I love most about PatientsLikeMe though is the feeling of community and a sense of warm and open invitation to everyone. This is a wonderful time to say thank you to the administrators and support folks here. You work so hard and listen so well to our suggestions. Thank you to all the members and caregivers here too. You’ve made PatientsLikeMe our community.