Drugs mentioned in this installment:
- Riluzole (Brand Name - Rilutek) is a drug used to improve respiratory function in people with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). It delays the onset of ventilator dependence and extends life expectancy by an average of three months, though the high cost of the medication ($10 per tablet) and its modest benefit tend to prevent its use in a lot of patients.
- Tizanidine (Brand Name - Zanaflex) is a andrenergic (adrenal glands) muscle relaxant used to treat the spasms, cramping, and tightness of muscles caused by ALS.
- Roxanol is a concentrated oral solution of morphine used to treat the muscle pain caused by ALS. The oral solution is prescribed instead of oral tablets because people in the intermediate stages of ALS often have difficulty swallowing solids. The final stages of the disease often prevent any swallowing at all, so intramuscular and intravenous drug formulations are used at that time.
Goren remarks to Barb at one point, "Maybe I haven't had enough tragedy in my life" but one of the hallmarks of Goren's character are the tragedies he suffers throughout the series, and the ones he experienced before it.