Red Wine Compound May Help Fight MS
Red wine it seems may not only be beneficial for the heart. Studies have shown that drinking red wine in moderation may help in keeping the heart healthy. Now it seems that a study may suggest that red wine may also be helpful in fighting multiple sclerosis.
A study of mice suffering from a condition similar to multiple sclerosis called Wallerian degeneration slow or WldS, showed some improvement when given a compound called resveratrol, which can be found in red wine. Resveratrol has been known to have several beneficial properties in other previous experiments. Resveratrol have been known to be an effective anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer agent as well as its blood sugar lowering and beneficial effects on the heart.
In the recent study concerning mice with multiple sclerosis-like conditions, resveratrol was given as part of a possible treatment for their condition. According to the researchers from the University of Utah, the mice gained weight in the first two weeks after treatment. This is in spite nerve cell tissues did not show any positive effect five weeks into the experimental treatment.
But the fact that the mice gained weight is an encouraging sign. “They (the researchers) didn’t look at the tissue under the microscope in the first two weeks,” said Dr. John Richert, the executive vice president for the research and clinical program of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Gaining weight is an encouraging sign in every multiple sclerosis treatment. The doctor said that one of the initial clinical signs of multiple sclerosis is weight loss. The weight loss leads to eventual loss of neurological function.
Although the study still poses some questions that are left unanswered, the encouraging signs that the use of resveratrol makes it a potential candidate for further study. The results of the recent study have given good evidence that the compound found in red wine should be further looked into to find out what really is its beneficial effect on diseases such as multiple sclerosis.
Source:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_69493.html
Vitamin D Levels Might Predict MS Risk
Researchers from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society have provided links that vitamin D levels in the body to the risk of developing multiple sclerosis. The study which involved children showed that those with lower levels of the said vitamin seem to be at a higher risk of being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
The researchers measured the vitamin D biomarker levels in children who have undergone a first demyelinating event. The said event is an attack of symptoms that indicates that there might be some trouble happening in the central nervous system. About a quarter of children who have gone through such attacks went on to be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
The study showed that children diagnosed with MS have significantly lower biomarker of vitamin D status than those who had a first even but did not develop MS. According to study author Heather E. Hanwell, a doctoral candidate in nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto and the study author, “Children diagnosed with MS had lower vitamin D levels than those not diagnosed. Another way of looking at it, as vitamin D status increased, children had a lower risk of being diagnosed.”
The said study is to be presented at the World Congress on Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis in Montreal. The study seems to substantiate previous studies indicating that multiple sclerosis seems to become more common in regions farther away from the equator where there is lesser sunlight. Vitamin D synthesis in the body is made possible by ultraviolet rays from the sun as it hits the skin. Aside from that, there is also evidence that vitamin D is linked with the immune system function.
At this point, the studies may still require further research in order to prove the clinical implications of vitamin D levels with multiple sclerosis. Further studies may be needed to know if vitamin d supplementation can help reduce the risk of MS. There might still be insufficient evidence to show that taking vitamin D supplements may have an effect on multiple sclerosis once it has been diagnosed.
Source: http://www.drugs.com/news/vitamin-d-levels-might-predict-risk-ms-13754.html
Low Dose Naltrexone and Multiple Sclerosis
People suffering from multiple sclerosis are still hoping that a cure may someday be discovered that would ultimately get rid of their lifelong ailment. Multiple sclerosis can really be a condition that can limit one’s capabilities to enjoy life. What most sufferers hope for today is find an effective multiple sclerosis treatment that would help control or lessen the symptoms associated with the disease that affect them on a regular basis.
There are many types of multiple sclerosis treatments that doctors prescribe for different forms of the disease. One of the emerging treatments that people believe will help multiple sclerosis patients is the use of low dose naltrexone therapy. But this type of therapy is still considered as an off label therapy for lack of proper studies made to prove its effectiveness on multiple sclerosis.
The use of Naltrexone is actually already been approved for use by the FDA. But its use wasn’t targeted as therapy for people afflicted with multiple sclerosis. Naltrexone is mainly used for treatment of alcohol and opoid drug dependence. But the use of low dose naltrexone therapy has recently been seen to have beneficial effects for treating autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis as well as other types of cancers.
LDN is believe to work in several ways in trying to treat certain ailments. Without formal studies yet being conducted, a formal conclusion has yet to be reached as to how this form of therapy really works. But most proponents of the therapy believes that naltrexone
causes a blockage of the endorphin receptors in the brain. Endorphins allow opoid drug users to derive pleasure form the effects of the drug. By providing an effective blockade, drug users are therefore prevented from getting the usual pleasure form drug use and therefore breaks their dependence on it. Instead of the normal dose used to treat drug and alcohol dependence in patients, treating autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis requires just a low dose of the compound, usually from 3 to 5 mg.
The low dose of naltrexone seems to block a number of endorphin receptors from attaching to the endorphins. But because there is a shortage of receptors, it triggers the body to create more endorphins. Once the low dose of naltrexone is metabolized in the body, it is left with a normal amount of endorphins which eventually normalizes the immune function.
The LDN therapy is seen to be quite controversial by some in that it contradicts the normal held belief that autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis are being caused by an overactive immune system.
Neurons Can Re-Grow in MS Lesions
A recent small study has provided researchers with some evidence that the adult human brain has the ability to grow neurons. The said study was conducted by researchers at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute and which included monitoring nine people with multiple sclerosis and another control group consisting of four healthy people.
Multiple sclerosis is a disease that affects the Central Nervous System. The disease is characterized by the body’s own immune system to attack and destroy the myelin sheath, an cover of tissue cells that protects the nerves. Once the myelin sheath is damaged, the nerve signals are disrupted and tends to misfire, resulting in various physical symptoms.
The researchers both analyzed the neurons in normal sub cortical white matter as well as those in acute and chronic demyelinated brain lesions. The researchers initially found out that neurons found in white matter also run the risk of damage during the demyelination process.
However, the researchers also found out that there are a small percentage of old multiple sclerosis lesions where there was a perceived increase in white matter neurons, about 72 percent more than in normal brain regions. The new white matter neurons appear also to be fully developed.
According to research leader Bruce Trapp, a neurosciences chair at Lerner, in a Cleveland Clinic news release, “Our study suggests that demyelinated tissues produce signals that can enhance the generation of new neurons in damaged areas of the brain. Based on our findings, there is enough evidence to support the idea that new neurons can re-grow in multiple sclerosis lesions”. What remains unclear to researchers is the level of function that the new neurons have which the team plan to further look into.
Source:
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=91523
Labeling Changes For Tysabri Sought
The Federal Drug Administration has recently issued an alert to health care providers in the US about two new European cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy or PML that has been linked to the drug Tysabri. The FDA is currently trying to work with the US manufacturers of the said drug, namely Elan and Biogen Idec for a possible amendment to the current product labeling in order to inform patients using the said drug about the cases of PML linked to the use of Tysabri as monotherapy.
Tysabri, also known as natalizumab, is a known FDA approved treatment for multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s Disease. Tysabri is taken intravenously in specified doses every 28 days as treatment. The drug is believed to be effective by reducing the ability of the body’s inflammatory immune cells to pass through the blood-brain barrier and the cell layers lining the intestines and cause damage to nerve cells. The use of Tysabri has proven to be effective in treating the symptoms of multiple sclerosis as well as help prevent relapse of the diseases and offer MS patients with a better quality of life.
The use of Tysabri was first approved for use in the US in 2004 by the United States Food and Drug Administration for treatment of MS. But in 2005, the drug was immediately pulled out of the market by the manufacturers in light of three cases of the rare neurological condition known as PML that was linked to treatment using the drug administered in combination with interferon beta-1a, another known treatment for MS.
After further reviews which resulted in no cases of deaths reported, Tysabri was once again re-approved for use in 2006 but subject to restrictions. The use of the drug was only given to multiple sclerosis patients who have chosen to be enrolled in the TOUCH Prescribing Program. Under this program aimed to reduce the risk associated with the use of Tysabri, patients are closely monitored for any occurrence of PML or any other similar infections.
PML is a fatal infection caused by a polyomavirus called the JC virus. This infection attacks the brains and the central nervous system. The JC virus is often acquired during childhood with most adults having them without developing PML. The virus appears to remain inactive until a weakened immune system triggers it to start multiplying. Tysabri and drugs like interferon beta affect or suppress the body’s immune system, allowing it to weaken and likely cause the infection.
It was once thought that taking Tysabri as monotherapy (used alone)will lessen the risk of MS patients from developing PML. But the two recent European cases of PML developing on Tysabri patients have used the said drug for treating their multiple sclerosis and have not been using any other therapy. The recent incidents have prompted FDA to issue the alert and consider the product labeling of Tysabri to be amended to inform future patients and doctors of the risk.
