Jun
9
Vitamin D Linked to Poor Learning Performance in Patients With MS
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June 9, 2010 San Antonio, Texas — A new study shows that serum vitamin D deficiency is associated with poor learning performance among patients with multiple sclerosis MS. The research was presented here at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers 24th Annual Conference and the Third Joint Meeting of Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis.
There is some evidence that vitamin D suppresses proinflammatory cytokines, and that low levels of these cytokines could contribute to MS. Other evidence suggests that vitamin D plays a role in cognitive function in older adults. Cognitive impairment is very common in MS, but few studies have examined the relationship between serum vitamin D and cognitive deficits in this population.
Read the rest via Vitamin D Linked to Poor Learning Performance in Patients With MS.
May
26
O’Jays Singer Reveals Long Battle With Multiple Sclerosis
Filed Under News, Personal Stories | 1 Comment
By Belinda Goldsmith
Reuters
CANBERRA
Singer Walter Williams from R&B group The O’Jays seemed to have a charmed life, but for nearly three decades he kept a secret from his fans — he was suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS).
However to mark World MS Day on May 26, Williams decided it was time to go public with his health issues to let other MS sufferers know that it is possible to lead an active life despite the chronic and often disabling disease.
“I have done well with MS and I want other sufferers to know that they too can lead a normal life,” Williams, 67, told Reuters in a telephone interview.
“Why now? Well, it’s a good time to come out and let people know there is medication for this now that helps a great deal. When I was diagnosed they told me I had 20 years to live and there was no cure but it has all changed.”
Williams is a founding member of the The O’Jays who were pioneers of 1970s soul music with hits like “Love Train,” and “Use Ta Be My Girl.”
He first realized something was wrong while on tour in 1983 and he began getting numb in his feet, legs and torso. At the age of 39 he was diagnosed with MS, the inflammatory autoimmune disease that attacks the central nervous system.
Over 2 million people worldwide have MS which affects about three females to every male with symptoms often starting to show when people are in their early 30s.
“I knew nothing about MS so when I was diagnosed I just freaked out. The doctor told me to get my life in order as I probably only had 20 years to live,” said Williams.
“At first I did the pity party thing and felt sorry for myself, but then I got angry and decided to fight it. I started exercising more to make my body strong and started to eat right and keep a great attitude. I slipped a lot but I got through it.”
read the rest: O’Jays Singer Reveals Long Battle With Multiple Sclerosis.
May
18
Liberation or placebo effect?
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from the Montreal Gazette:
MONTREAL – Miracle cures are not a common occurrence but in the world of multiple sclerosis, the hopes of patients and their loved ones have never been as high as they are right now. The excitement stems from what is being touted as a circulation-improving surgical procedure that seems to promise remarkable results. With dramatic testimonials pitted against a skeptical scientific and regulatory community, the question is whether or not poor vein drainage from the head to the heart is a cause of MS and whether dilating the veins, known as “the liberation treatment,” is helpful. We take a hard look at the evidence.
A good, skeptical look at the “liberation” treatment for ms, concluding:
As a result, it is likely – given what we know about the placebo effect in MS patients who enter studies of novel treatments – that all of the benefits were the result of the powerful belief in the treatment, rather than anything related to improved blood flow.
The supposed connection between CCSVI, if that condition actually exists, and MS, breaks down on a number of other fronts, including the fact that patients who have impaired blood flow in their veins as a result of surgeries, for example, don’t develop MS. Similarly, vessels tend to narrow as we age and yet MS is not a disease of older individuals. The blocked vein theory of MS is so out of keeping with our understanding of the disease that it might be compared to fixing a burned out car radiator by changing the tires of a car.
read the rest via HealthWatch: Liberation or placebo effect? MS surgery.
I strongly suspect that critics of this “treatment” are correct. Don’t get your hopes up.
Apr
29
Twin Study Deepens Multiple Sclerosis Mystery
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The most detailed genetic investigation ever of multiple sclerosis has produced more questions than answers.
Using extremely fine-grained analytical tools, scientists compared genetic information in three sets of identical twins. One of each pair had MS, and the other didn’t — yet their genes proved essentially identical.
“We find no smoking gun on the genetic level,” said National Center for Genome Resources geneticist Stephen Kingsmore, co-author of the study published April 28 in Nature.
The research cost $1.5 million, and the scientists took 18 months to sequence 2.8 billion DNA units in each twin, and determine whether they came from the mother or father. Most genomic comparisons look for differences in a just handful of suspect genes, and even whole-genome approaches don’t differentiate between parental contributions.
The researchers also analyzed the twins’ CD4 cells, a type of white blood cell that plays a central role in the development of MS. In these cells, the researchers sequenced epigenomes — chemical instructions that turn genes on and off — and transcriptomes, or a chemical record of genes that are actively coding proteins.
These multiple layers of information represent the cutting edge of genomic analysis, and are expected to reveal what rougher tools cannot. “This was a technical tour de force, and potentially represents a new way of looking at disease states,” said Kingsmore. Nevertheless, they found no differences.
read the rest via Twin Study Deepens Multiple Sclerosis Mystery | Wired Science | Wired.com.