Yes, really and from the horse's mouth, otherwise known as the study coordinator:

http://fty720.blogspot.com/2008/06/update-on-fingolimod-fty720-death-and.html [3]

One patient has contracted viral encephalitisi [4] and she is now in a coma.

The other patient had suffered a MSi [2] relapse and was put on steroids. She returned to work at a day care facility before it was recommended that she do so. She contracted chicken pox from a client. Due to her immunei [5] system being further compromised by the use of steroids, she ended up dying.

They are not at this time going to halt the study or the extension phase.

Both patients had been on the study drug for nearly a year, starting this phase III trial in the summer of '07.

Novartis has not released whether these patients were on the Fingolimod or Placebo or Avonex. ................Sarah

An Itinerary in Light and Shadow

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Cordyceps are widely used in chinese (and other asian) medicine and are considered to be a delicacy. You can also get them in supplement form. They are supposed to have a wide range of metabolic effects. I found it to be quite a powerful supplement.

Here is more from a TLDP article [7]:

"Cordyceps is considered to be one of the most valuable medicinal herbs used traditionally in China, equaling Ginseng as a restorative tonic. In Chinese medicine, it is classified as a kidney and lung tonic. Although Cordyceps tonifies both yin and yang, it predominately tonifies yang and is used to treat impotence as well as soreness and weakness of the lower back (deficient kidney yang). The vast array of scientific studies on Cordyceps mushroom extract (CME) show that the main activities are oxygen-free radical scavenging, anticancer, antisenescence (inhibits aging of the brain), endocrine-modulating, hypolipidemic, and antiatherosclerotic.

CME restores sexual function (replenishes sperm, increases testosterone) and is antiasthmatic. It also shows significant beneficial effects on the nervous (stress-reducing effect), respiratory, hepatic, cardiovascular, and immunei [5] systems (increases IL-2, interferon, NK-cells, and TNF production). CME improves glucose metabolism and is used to treat immunological diseasesi [8], inflammatory conditions, cancer, and diseases of the kidney and liver (being protective, as well as regenerative)."

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Hunter: Don't think - experiment