"I'd say in a given week I probably only do about fifteen minutes of real, actual, work."

[rubykatewriting]

Just completed my online training for this new eCRF (electronic case report form) data system I will be using with my new study. I even have a certificate. Whoo. (Can you feel my excitement, people?)

However, the drug itself is rather cool, and I'm hoping it will work. Basically, it stimulates platelet growth. (One AMAZING side effect they've noted in other studies is that it also stimulates patients' hemoglobin and neutrophils.) Considering our patient population, this is HUGE news. One of the main problems with most of our chemotherapy regimens (and even some of our targeted therapies) is that it causes immunosuppression, which we help control by keeping patients on a varied regimen of antibiotics and antifungals, but sometimes patients' counts get down too low, and we are forced to place them on hold. (This has happened three times now with one of my patients on another trial; the worst of it is the study drug is controlling his leukemia. He is now on two types of platelet stimulates as well as a reduced dose on the study drug.)

Anyway, my geeking out aside, I really hate training classes of every variety. I’m a practical learner. I don’t learn well by example. I have to just do it.

(“We lose, Booth shoots him.”) I didn't have the glee I normally experience after an episode, which I think has a lot do with the whole emotionally manipulative aspect of the storyline with Hodgins. But that final conversation between Booth and Bones at the end? OMG. "Sex, socks. Basically the same word." HA! Love you, Booth. Please never change. Although I must admit I'm loving the therapy storyline. For all that Booth has gone through – his sniper past, his religious issues regarding his and Rebecca’s relationship, being a good father – he’s remarkably sane, but I think he does have some things to work out that could be aided by a professional. Plus Stephen Fry as the therapist – there is NO wrong there.

Comments

[random-serious.livejournal.com]

First of all: Your work sounds beyond col, and I wish you good luck. Heaven knows cancer treatments could be better...

Second: I haven't seen Bones yet, but, yes, Booth in therapy is the makings of good things.

[rubykatewriting.livejournal.com]

Well research is both exhilarating and frustrating. One of my first protocols over here turned out to be a giant stinker. I think it was a combination of things, this being a last ditch effort for the patients and the drug didn't live up to its potential. Then you add in the mortality rates (adult leukemia is pretty much a death sentence at this point in time, it's just a matter of when. I had one patient die almost a year to the day of diagnosis and another is still alive and kicking 15+ years post-diagnosis.) with the asshole doctors and it can be EXTREMELY trying to keep the faith.

Booth in therapy is the makings of good things
Yep, yep, yep. I was really not shippy with this show, but as season one went on, I definitely started seeing the promise of Bones and Booth. This whole thing with Sully now sort of seals the deal for me. I'm just waiting for Bones to realize she's dating a more emotionally available version of Booth. With the therapy, I think Booth (especially after their convo last night and his reactions) is going to come to that realization A LOT sooner though.

[herowlness.livejournal.com]

Wow, that is definitely awesome news about the drug! Mind if I ask what drug it is? Nosy pharmacist-to-be over here. We haven't gotten to chemo drugs yet in Therapeutics, but that's coming up later this semester. :)

[rubykatewriting.livejournal.com]

I know! I only wish I could get my one patient on this trial but it's the platelet stimulant plus hypomethylating agents. He doesn't fit the criteria. Dammit.

Mind if I ask what drug it is?
It actually doesn't have a name yet. The company uses the first three letters of their name with three numbers to identify it, which is actually a common practice. I worked in the Investigational Pharmacy before I came onto this side of the pond, and it was really amazing seeing the process up close. We had such an amazing mix of trials going on – drugs that were brand spanking new to drugs that have been around for years that we studied the use of in other diseases. (For instance, there was an article on our intranet just today about this old timey [we're talking 40 years old] allergy medication that is helping in pancreatic tumors. God knows we can use all the help we can get in that fight.)

[herowlness.livejournal.com]

No, I totally know what you mean. I just didn't realize it wasn't far enough along in clinical trials to have an actual name yet. But, man, is that exciting. :)

Do you know which allergy medication it was? If it's that old, I'm guessing chlorapheneramine or diphenyhydramine or one of the other first generation ones (part of what I had to study for my OTC test today), and I'm totally curious about that. If you don't remember though, no worries. :)

But, yeah, I totally love stories about "serendipity" in pharmaceuticals. Like how they discovered that Buproprion would work in smoking cessation. One of my professors told me that they were doing clinical trials for depression (which is what it's first indication is/was for), and then a fair number of the smokers in the study quit smoking while they were on the medication. Of course, they had to do another trial geared towards smoking cessation, but still. :)

[rubykatewriting.livejournal.com]

Do you know which allergy medication it was?
It's Cromolyn.

Like how they discovered that Buproprion would work in smoking cessation.
Heh. One of the last big studies we did before I transferred out was a smoking cessation trial with the drug Acomplia, which we called Rimonabant back then. It actually proved to be quite amazing for smoking cessation (the only patients on our trial that started smoking again had yet to kick the physical habit of it) AND in weight loss, including abdominal obesity, which is a big concern these days. It was really quite amazing. They interviewed one patient for the local news and just during her time on study she'd shed 45 pounds. I LOVE those kind of stories.

[herowlness.livejournal.com]

That's fantastic! Does it matter if it's the Cromolyn inhaler or does it need to be taken orally - like in tablet form? Whatever, that's definitely good news. :)

And rimonabant sounds like a fabulous new drug. I'm just wondering when the FDA is finally going to approve it for use in the US ... :-\

Thanks for the drug news. I had no idea you were so involved in the health care field. :)

[rubykatewriting.livejournal.com]

They're actually working on the delivery system, re: Cromolyn. The research has only been done at the animal level so far, but there are trials in the works.

Yeah. I've been in the health field basically since high school. It's nice to have someone to geek out about it with.