First Potential Lupus-Specific Treatment in Sight!

Today, Human Genome Sciences (HGS) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced positive results from a year-long clinical trial of BENLYSTA for treating lupus. When the 52-week study concluded, the lupus patients who were treated with BENLYSTA had improvement. The patients receiving BENLYSTA also were able to reduce their intake of steroid medications. The study is the largest ever for lupus.

With no new drugs for more than 50 years, The Lupus Foundation of America is greatly encouraged by the results.  An estimated 1.5 million Americans and more than 5 million people worldwide live with lupus.

Should the FDA ultimately approve BENLYSTA, it would become the first drug successfully developed to treat lupus since the disease was discovered more than a century ago.  Assuming positive results in November from second Phase 3 trial of BENLYSTA, companies plan to submit marketing applications in the U.S., Europe and other regions in the first half of 2010.

Fore more information on BENLYSTA click HERE.

If you or someone you know has been denied long-term disability benefits for their claim for Lupus, please contact Stacey Burke of SMSH at (800) 282-2122.  Stacey is currently reprepsenting clients with denied claims for Lupus and other auto-immune diseases.

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Protecting Your Job While Coping With a Chronic Illness

Chronically ill employees face job uncertainty.  Legal protection available to chronically ill workers can seem unclear. To protect themselves, workers have to try and understand their employers' policies, which consist of lengthy contracts packed full of legalese.  Often the policies include short- and long-term disability plans, with definitions and stipulations that can make most people's heads spin.

Lesley Alderman's New York Times article recommends the following steps for chronically ill employees:
1.  Inform your employer of your condition
2.  Ask for adjustments
3.  Know your employer's time-off policies
4.  Explore alternatives within your job

If you or someone you know needs assistance with a long-term disability claim, please contact Stacey Burke or Dennis McElwee at SMSH toll-free at (800) 282-2122.  We handle LTD denial cases nationwide.  Also follow us on Twitter @Lawyer4ERISA.

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BREAKING NEWS: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Cause, Mechanism & Diagnostic Test Discovered, Researchers Say

This could be the biggest news ever concerning chronic fatigue syndrome.  Prominent researcher Kenny de Meirleir announced that he and his Belgian research team have uncovered a major cause and a major underlying mechanism of the condition.  What's more, he says they've also developed a simple and inexpensive home test kit.

The Cause & Mechanism

According to Dr. de Meirleir, a major cause is a high level of hydrogen sulphate (H2S). H2S can build up after antibiotic use, salmonella infection, or too much mercury exposure.

The Test

Dr. de Meirleir says the diagnostic test accurately shows whether you have high levels of hydrogen sulphate in your urine. It's a simple color-change test, similar to what's commonly used in home pregnancy tests. It will soon be available from Dr. de Meirleir's company Protea Biopharma.

View slides used in Dr. de Meirleir's press conference HERE.

The attorneys of SMSH currently represent numerous clients with Chronic Fatigue and related syndromes against insurance companies who have wrongfully denied disability benefits.  For more information please contact Stacey Burke at (800) 282-2122.

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AARP: More than 19 million Americans live with a work disability

The AARP reported today that over 19 million Americans have a work disability.  That's 10.9 percent of people ages 21 to 64.  Fewer than half of those disabled workers collect monthly checks from Social Security Disability Insurance, a fund built by federal tax deductions from workers' pay checks. Right now, 9.3 million Americans and their dependents get the money.  The Social Security Administration, now facing an unprecedented backlog of disability claims, expects the problem to worsen as more Americans lose their jobs and file for disability benefits.

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