Hello Micky (and to all carao study participants):
My hope is that carao can allow thal major patients to avoid blood transfusion and live symptomless or nearly symptomless with a stable hemoglobin level, which however in the case of thal major I expect will be very low compared to normal. (At least, this is the experience of one case that was reported to me from India.)
For thal minor, I am hoping/expecting to see dramatic improvement in hemoglobin levels, perhaps to normal levels (as with the case in Costa Rica).
Of course, this is an "informal" study with no strict controls. It will provide "anecdotal" results. Still,[bgcolor=#fff500] it would be a great help if the participants would avoid trying new therapies during the time carao is taken.[/bgcolor] That way, even though other treatments are also being given, we can still draw some conclusions about carao being effective, or not.
I propose that we use this thread for pre-study discussion and speculation on results, and use another thread called "Carao Study Results" only to post actual results and discussion on those results.