Winter Woes 
Weary Homeowners Battle Stubborn Ice And Snow

Alfred Weisenbacher 
Jan. 10, 1994 
Alfred H. Weisenbacher, 68, Of Country Club Apartments, Dallas, Died Monday At 
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Plains Township.

By MITCH MORRISON; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Wednesday, January 12, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A QUICK WORDS: PROGRESS AGAINST MS 





Joseph Hamilton wants to stay out of a wheelchair. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Multiple sclerosis has made his left side numb. His left hand struggles to
squeeze a coin; his left foot trails his right. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But Hamilton has hope of continued mobility. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He and 70,000 multiple sclerosis patients lined up last fall for a special
lottery -- not a get-rich-quick scheme but an opportunity to be the first to
try what some researchers have dubbed a wonder drug that promises to curb the
number of multiple sclerosis attacks against the body's immune system. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The new drug, Betaseron, is in such short supply that three of every four
potential users -- including Hamilton -- "lost" in the national drawing. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Then he won. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Hershey Medical Center chose Hamilton, of Dickson City, and 19 others to
test the drug. The center might accept as many as 40 more MS patients this
winter. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "This is not a miracle drug that's going to wipe out MS, but it's a start,"
said Dr. Jeffrey Latts, researcher for the drug's manufacturer, Berlex
Laboratories of California. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Hamilton, a 41-year-old psychotherapist, who is married and the father of
two children, understands the drug's limitations -- and the hope it offers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "If it ... keeps me away from the wheelchair, then it's worthwhile." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Drug not for everyone &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For most people, the immune system is a military-like defense, guarding
against invading organisms. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For Hamilton and 250,000 Americans with multiple sclerosis, known as MS,
the immune system is the enemy, rebelling against their bodies. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Most MS patients live ordinary lives, holding down careers and caring for
families, but about one-quarter aren't as fortunate. They are wheelchair-bound
or bedridden. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For patients with the most severe symptoms, Betaseron offers no hope. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Everybody wants Betaseron, but it's not for everyone," said Dr. Richard
Tenser, chief of the Neurology Division at Hershey Medical Center. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's not going to help someone in the wheelchair," he said. "It can't be
as good as everyone thinks it's going to be." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Don't mistake Tenser's reaction for pessimism. Even the drug's manufacturer
acknowledges Betaseron is not the medical equivalent of Jonas Salk's polio
vaccine. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Berlex Laboratories warns that while the drug reduces the likelihood of
attacks in people with mild MS, it will not restore what MS has taken away. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For the patient with impaired vision, Betaseron will not recover the
person's eyesight. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "There's a long way to go before MS will be behind us," Berlex medical
Latts said from his California office near San Francisco. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For Joseph Hamilton, his left hand probably will never squeeze a penny even
after years of Betaseron in his system. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And, Betaseron serves up its share of side effects. Since beginning
medication two months ago, Hamilton often is nauseous and sometimes suffers
headaches. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 At the Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, one of 11 patients on
Betaseron has dropped the medication because of the side effects, said Dr.
Tony Turel, head of neurology. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Berlex's Dr. Latts said it's not uncommon for Betaseron users to suffer
flu-like symptoms, including fever, headaches, irritation and even mild
depression. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But, Latts added, the symptoms usually recede during three or four months
as the body accepts the new drug. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Despite the criticism, Betaseron is scoring national attention largely
because it's the first MS combatant approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration since 1976. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Before, patients had few options other than steroids that do not prevent MS
attacks -- only shorten an ongoing attack. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Mysterious in nature &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 MS could stand for mystery sickness. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It's rarely discovered at first glance. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Unlike other diseases, multiple sclerosis does not possess its own unique
symptoms but usually is diagnosed only after neurologists have ruled out other
possible diseases. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The symptoms are wide-ranging: fatigue, numbness, loss of balance,
double-vision and bladder problems. Severe cases of the disease sometimes
include paralysis. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We're not sure what causes it," Tenser acknowledges. The theory from the
1960s and '70s was that MS invaded when a common virus left. Now, many doctors
believe it's a distortion in the immune system. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The drug works best for patients diagnosed with the relapse or remittance
category of the disease -- someone with MS symptoms that clear up on their
own, sometimes in days, as long as months. In three years of clinical tests,
the drug reduced the number of relapses by one third. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For patients with chronic progressive former of MS -- whose condition
gradually worsens instead of clearing up -- Betaseron offers little hope for
improvement or stabilization. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Not easy to take &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 When the FDA approved Betaseron last summer, Nancy Engleman's telephone at
the Multiple Sclerosis Society's Exeter office got busy. More than half of the
540 MS victims in Northeastern Pennsylvania called. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Will this help me?" &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "How can I get the drug?" &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It was a deluge," said Engleman, the MS Society's service director. "Now,
it's slowing down and people are thinking whether they really want this or if
they should wait to see if a better drug comes around." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The drawbacks resemble a long chain: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 First, Betaseron isn't easy to take. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The patient must mix the proper amount of saline with the powdery Beta
interferon, then inject the concoction like a diabetic taking insulin. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Then, there are the potential side effects. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Then, there is the cost -- about $10,000 a year. Latts says the high cost
is, in large part, to recover literally hundreds of millions of dollars
invested since the late 1970s on the drug. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Then, there's the insurance. Many insurance companies are weighing coverage
on a case-per-case basis. Customers without prescription drug plans aren't
covered. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's frustrating that many people who can use the drug won't be able to
afford it because their insurance won't cover it," says Debbie Wall, service
director at the MS Society's central Pennsylvania chapter, which covers 29
counties including Luzerne. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Hamilton is fortunate. His insurance company, HMO of Northeast
Pennsylvania, is absorbing the entire expense. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Other drugs on horizon &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Betaseron may have rivals soon. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Researchers nationwide and at the Hershey Medical Center are testing other
treatments including Copolymer I, which has been successfully tested in
animals, and Immunoglobulin G. Neither has obtained FDA approval. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Hamilton hopes the competition will produce a cure for multiple sclerosis.
Until then, he's willing to regularly puncture his two legs with syringes,
hopeful the treatments will help. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I understand these aren't proven drugs," he says. "But it's a risk I have
to take." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER/DON CAREY &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Every other day Joseph Hamilton, 41, of Dickson City, injects Betaseron
into his legs. The drug, a combination of beta interferon and saline, is
expected to reduce the number of attacks against people with multiple
sclerosis.

Progress Against Ms Area Man Among 20 Chosen To Test New Drug