95
that the two most painful things he knew were childbirth and
shingles.
My brother right now has shingles. Anything that would relieve
the pain would be quite welcome to him.
Dr. BAUM. I certainly agree with you.
The CHAIRMAN. One other thing.
Are there other drugs now being used with respect to arthritis,
effective in doing anything other than reducing pain? Aspirin?
Dr. BAUM. Yes. Aspirin is an anti-inflammatory agent, as Dr.
Scherbel pointed out, a drug known for hundreds of years. Studies
have been done of hundreds of patients comparing them-patients
who got no aspirin in the form of placebo, versus aspirin, there was
an improvement, a diminution in the size of the joint, and some
measures of inflammation in the body were reduced when given
aspirin. But all analgesic nonsteroidal inflammatory drugs are also
effective in that way.
The drugs not effective in reducing inflammation are drugs like
Darvon and Tylenol. These are analgesic drugs but are not anti-
inflammatory. For the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, because
it is an inflammatory disease, you must give an anti-inflammatory
agent as well as an analgesic agent.
The CHAIRMAN. You agree with what was said by one of the
other witnesses, that Dr. Scherbel has done creditable work?
Dr. BAUM. Oh, yes.
The CHAIRMAN. The results of his work would be relevant evi-
dence in your opinion to be considered by the Food and Drug
Administration?
Dr. BAUM. Certainly if I were to evaluate anybody's evidence, I
would evaluate Dr. Scherbel's first, because of the vast experience
he has had with the drug. He would be the first one I would go to
to evaluate what he has found with this drug.
The CHAIRMAN. But material of that sort was not included in the
previous applications which were denied?
Dr. BAUM. I do not know. I do not know about what goes into the
FDA, I am not a member of any of their committees, so I do not
know what was submitted to the FDA. But I do know that he has
worked on this drug, as I say, and this disease for more years than
anybody else.
The CHAIRMAN. If after a fuller study of this substance-do you
call it properly a drug or just a substance?
Dr. BAUM. Well, I suppose anything that you give to a patient to
affect a change in a disease I would call a drug, and if so, by that
definition I would call it a drug.
The CHAIRMAN. If further study of this drug should be made and
controlled studies could be carefully prepared and presented to the
Food and Drug Administration, such as to justify and to bring
about a favorable action of that product upon the application so
that that drug might become available for general use, I guess you
would welcome it, too.
Dr. BAUM. Oh, I certainly would. I treat patients with sclero-
derma. Dr. Scherbel is right, that is the worst disease I have to
treat. I have nothing-well, there is one drug we are trying but
there is really very little I have to offer these patients.
The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Dr. Baum.
