These are results of 3-rd my brain MRI scan, performed in early 2007.
- First MRI scan was performed during the procedure of my disease diagnosis in 1996. It revealed lots of lesions and heavy inflammation over my brain
- Second MRI scan, performed in 2002, confirmed MS-style lesions, but no inflammation. Something unusual for MS!
Definitely, included information is technical, so complicated for a lay men.
However, it is possible to see all the drama of somebody, afflicted by degenerative process of Central Nervous System, i.e. multiple sclerosis (MS).
Report of my MRI scan
Very extensive changes characteristic of MS are present bilaterally, predominantly in the supratentorial brain. Several dozen lesions are noted in the peri ventricular region of both cerebral hemispheres. There is a subtle lesion in the posterior right corpus callosum. There is a 1.2 cm lesion in the left basal ganglia bridging the posterior limb of the internal capsule and lateral aspect of the thalamus. Several lesions are present in the periventricular deep white matter of both temporal lobes. There is a subtle lesion at the junction of the mid brain and pons. There is diffuse increased signal throughout the posterior lower pons and upper medulla. Subtle possible lesions are present in both cerebellar peduncles. Neither of these lesions is confidently identified on axial imaging however.
Diffusion weighted imaging demonstrates that the left thalamic/internal capsule lesion shows a little increased signal, as do several of the posterior parietal lesions bilaterally, which would suggest that these are relatively more active and therefore likely to be more recent.
Impression:
Severe changes characteristic of multiple sclerosis with several lesions including left thalamus/basal ganglia showing slight increase in diffusion restriction suggesting these are more recent.
Follow-up report by neurologist
Essentially he had a severe acute brain disorder about 10 years ago. At the time an MRI was compatible with severe central nervous system demyelination… Since then the patient denies any major fluctuation of symptoms and definitely denies the presence of what may be regarded as MS attacks. His main residual symptoms are ataxia involving four limbs and also the head, and so fatique and insomnia. As mentioned above, the patient seems to have adapted his own way to the condition and is very unkeen on any further diagnostic procedures or medication.
Performed MRI scan confirmed innumerable lesions of central nervous system demyelination… Therefore there is no evidence either clinically or from diagnostic tests to suspect that this patient may have an active phase of disease.
Assessment:
I still think that central nervous system demyelination with acute initial phase is the most likely explanation and this could have been in the form of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis or perhaps ADEM. Other hypotheses such as a post encephalitic syndrome or toxic white matter lesions syndrome can only be speculated but not confirmed…
We parted on good terms with the agreement that very likely there is little else I can do at this stage that may have any major impact on his lifestyle and therefore I have not arranged regular follow-up in this clinic.
It is unlikely that his condition will change in a considerable way in the future but of course should there be clear signs of acute inflammatory activation of disease with new neurological deficits I am happy to review this patient when needed in the future.
Final words
I live well.
OK, I know my brain is heavily damaged. But is it so important? I mean – it’s personal, what one do with any bit of information.
Look, it’s entirely personal, whether one will be scared or start acting. Usually big fear paralyses. So what? How long one can do nothing?
I don’t know. Really.
I started acting (mostly studying) and seeking solutions shortly after MS diagnosis (1996). Now I rule my MS and do not care, how many lesions over my brain doctors are seeing.
Advice by Bobby McFerrin “Don’t worry – be happy” could help !
New year arrived with fresh news in area of so-called multiple sclerosis drugs.
On 22 January 2010 FDA (USA) approved a new drug “Ampyra”, that improves walking abilities in many MS patients.
Almost three out of four MS sufferers admit that walking appears to be the most frustrating aspect of their life. So any improvement of their life is welcomed.
Ampyra specifics (important):
- it should be taken with other MS drugs and
- it does not keep MS from getting worse
Main advantage of this multiple sclerosis drug: although Ampyra does not change the course of disease, it most probably enhances nerve function.
These are good points of a new drug. However, by no means it is safe. You see
Originally this chemical was used as a bird poison !
Known side effects:
- multiple sclerosis relapse
- urinary tract infection
- balance disorder
- insomnia
- loss of muscle strength
- dizziness
- headache
- tingling or numbness in the extremities
- nose or throat inflammation
- upset stomach
- throat pain
- nausea
- constipation
- back pain
Everybody MS-er should think carefully, if using this drug isn’t too high price. Even if walking abilities improve for a while.
My major question is:
How long walking improvement lasts, before one or another life quality worsening side effect appear?
You can read full article here.
Good question, isn’t it?
Official medicine is speaking about MS everyday. But still – what are they speaking about?
I went to Google and asked for definition of Multiple Sclerosis. You can see the result of my inquiry in article On MS definition. All 26 definitions are more or less incorrect. In reality it’s a completely useless mess. Yeah.
I’ve written another article MS – name ambiguity on the subject. It starts with MS description by National Multiple Sclerosis Society (USA). I analyzed it carefully and find it to be completely misleading.
One more MS definition can be found in article of Wikipedia.org:
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune response attacks a person’s central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), leading to demyelination… The name multiple sclerosis refers to scars (scleroses—better known as plaques or lesions) in the white matter of the brain and spinal cord, which is mainly composed of myelin.
Almost any neurological symptom can appear with the disease…
Although much is known about the mechanisms involved in the disease process, the cause remains unknown. Theories include genetics or infections. Different environmental risk factors have also been found.
That’s better – MS really is an autoimmune disorder. Unfortunately, I still have no idea, what is a key difference between ‘immune response’ and ‘immune system’. Isn’t this explanation perfect: “Almost any neurological symptom can appear with the disease”. Please remember – we are speaking about CNS damage! MS triggers have been mentioned only, without ANY further explanation. However, you can find some information in a chapter Triggers of my website.
* * *
According to National MS Society (USA) description , in order to make a diagnosis of MS, the physician must:
- Find evidence of damage in at least two separate areas of the central nervous system (CNS), which includes the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves AND
- Find evidence that the damage occurred at least one month apart AND
- Rule out all other possible diagnoses
According to the Criteria all a neurologist has to do to diagnose MS is to determine position and level of CNS damage according to strict regulations. Regretfully, they have chosen to keep silent about possible triggers etc.
* * *
Looking closely, it’s easy to see the complexity of the degenerative process.
Obviously, before MS can be diagnosed, a succession of the body damaging events must happen:
- The body is heavily polluted so one’s immune system gets detuned – that way autoimmunity starts
- Over-activated immune system starts the crusade against a new enemy – own body CNS, especially myelin
- To get to the brain, the blood brain barrier – brain safeguard – has to be damaged
- Significant damage to nerve covering (myelin) in many CNS positions has to be done
- Accumulated CNS damages lead to significant neurological symptoms
- CNS damages (lesions or scars) are clearly visible via MRI scanning etc
Hopefully, knowledge of these underlying degenerative processes could clarify some activities towards body stabilizing and healing. Obviously, these should involve mainly detoxification and immune system strengthening.
That’s my answer to a question What really Multiple Sclerosis is?
In one study, published June 2009, researchers from the University of Toronto tested the vitamin D blood levels of 125 children who had exhibited symptoms indicating some form of damage to the myelin sheath.
Children who develop multiple sclerosis have substantially lower levels of vitamin D than children who do not develop the disease, according to a series of studies presented at an international conference on multiple sclerosis in Montreal.
Full article: Vitamin D Deficiency Causes Multiple Sclerosis in Children
- “Three-quarters of our subjects were below the optimal levels for vitamin D,” lead researcher Heather Hanwell said
- “Seventeen of 19 children who had been diagnosed with MS had vitamin D levels below the target level,” researcher Brenda Banwell said
- “There is a very consistent pattern of latitude and multiple sclerosis,” said epidemiologist and multiple sclerosis researcher Cedric Garland of the University of California-San Diego
- “In Canada for six months of the year the sun is not intense enough for us to manufacture vitamin D in our skin”…
- “People have been looking for things in the environment that might account for why Canada has such a high MS risk, and this is one of those factors”…
Further explanation:
- It remains unclear exactly how vitamin D might influence multiple sclerosis risk, but researchers believe it may have to do with the immune system. New research continues to illuminate the role that vitamin D plays in the immune system, providing protection against cancer, tuberculosis and autoimmune diseases
And:
- Vitamin D acts as an immune modulator… On our immune cells there are what are known as receptors, a docking mechanism, for vitamin D. In MS, there are many lines of evidence that immune cells are not regulated properly
- Researchers called vitamin D research one of the most promising areas of research into causes and potential cures for multiple sclerosis
Final words:
- To prove that vitamin D is effective as a multiple sclerosis treatment or preventive – as well as to figure out what dose would be needed – researchers would first have to conduct large-scale clinical trials
* * *
So we got it:
Vitamin D Deficiency Causes Multiple Sclerosis in Children
But why:
- only vitamin D deficiency?
- only in children?
I realize – this was the area of the research – the researchers performed a so-called scientific investigation.
What I really can’t understand (and agree with) – they didn’t perform any exploration into area of other possible multiple sclerosis (MS) causes. OK, they don’t mention it.
All the authors of this article are trying to do is to treat a set of symptoms, officially called Multiple Sclerosis, presupposing the only cause (lack of vitamin D), without even guessing any other.
I described some most probable causes of multiple sclerosis and all other autoimmune disorders in a chapter MS Triggers.
It’s really so simple: if there is other MS trigger – not vitamin D deficiency, increasing amount of this particular vitamin will not reduce MS symptoms and can even complicate a situation.
* * *
Importance of vitamin D is well documented in important medical researches:
- A meta-analysis of 18 randomized controlled trials has found that supplemental vitamin D significantly reduces mortality from all causes
- Vitamin D’s final metabolic product targets more than 200 human genes in a wide variety of tissues
- Not only are such deficiencies common, but vitamin D deficiency is implicated in most of the diseases of civilization
- Since vitamin D deficiency is both endemic and is associated with numerous diseases, it is one of the most important medical problems in modern society
- Steps should be taken to keep patients with chronic diseases associated with vitamin D deficiency
Get your vitamin D
So you are interested in cures for MS (Multiple Sclerosis).
But do you really know, what Multiple Sclerosis is?
Being somewhat confused, the other day I typed a phrase: “Definition of Multiple Sclerosis” into a Google search box. That’s the result:
- a chronic progressive nervous disorder involving loss of myelin sheath around certain nerve fibers
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
- Multiple sclerosis (abbreviated MS, also known as disseminated sclerosis or encephalomyelitis disseminata) is an autoimmune condition in which the immune system attacks the central nervous system, leading to demyelination. …
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_sclerosis
- A chronic disease of the brain and spinal cord characterized by changes in sensation, visual problems, weakness, depression, difficulties with coordination and speech, impaired mobility and disability
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/multiple_sclerosis
- a disease of the central nervous system that is an unpredictable condition that can be relatively benign, disabling, or devastating, leaving the patient unable to speak, walk, or write.
www.rwjuh.edu/health_information/adult_pmr_glossary.html
- A slowly progressive central nervous system disease characterized by disseminated patches of demyelination in the brain and spinal cord.
www.cdc.gov/cfs/cfsglossary.htm
- Disease that affects the central nervous system-the brain and spinal cord. In MS, certain cells in your immune system attack your brain and spinal cord. These cells destroy myelin, the protective sheath that covers the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves.
www.novantrone.com/patients/global/glossary.jsp
- An autoimmune disorder of the CNS in which the body’s immune system destroys myelin.
www.msimmunology.com/msimmunology/glossary/index.m
- is a progressive disease of the central nervous system in which the myelin sheath of the neuron weakens.
highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0073531936/399662/Feldman8_esl_mod07.doc
- a disease marked by patches of hardened tissue in the brain and on the spinal cord that causes the destruction of the nerves’ protective myelin sheath. Partial or incomplete paralysis and jerking muscle tremor can result.
www.dana.org/news/publications/detail.aspx
- A degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system. MS causes scarring of nerve fibers and leads to such symptoms as arm and leg weakness, numbness, double vision and impaired coordination and movement. Trigeminal neuralgia also sometimes develops when MS scars the trigeminal nerve.
www.fpa-support.org/learning/Glossary.html
- A disease that affects the Central Nervous System, causing a variety of symptoms including vision problems, muscular weakness, depression, speech difficulties, severe fatigue, cognitive impairment, and pain.
www.vitamindcouncil.org/reference/glossary-M.shtml
- A disease that affects the Central Nervous System, causing a variety of symptoms including vision problems, muscular weakness, depression, speech difficulties, severe fatigue, cognitive impairment, and pain.
www.vitamindcouncil.org/reference/glossary-M.shtml
- Literally, “many hardenings”, MS is a disease of unknown cause that manifests as multiple hard plaques of degeneration of the insulating layer of nerve fibers in the central nervous system. The loss of insulation allows “short circuiting” of nerve impulses. …
www.dmu.edu/medterms/nervous/nervous_diseases.cfm
- A chronic demyelinating disorder.
pedsdemyelination.ccb.sickkids.ca/famGlossary.shtml
- One of the most common nervous system disorders with symptoms such as weakness or loss of control in the limbs, sudden vision problems or disturbed sensations.
www.dva.gov.au/health/HlthStdy/validation/glossary.htm
- A chronic, progressive, degenerative disorder that affects nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord. A fatty substance (called myelin) surrounds and insulates nerve fibers and facilitates the conduction of nerve impulse transmissions. …
www.childneuro.org/html/glossary.html
Heaps of definitions. Some provided by educational, other by governmental, scientific etc institutions. But is any of above definitions explaining reasons or processes of Multiple Sclerosis? Regretfully – not. All of them concentrate on MS symptoms. And, most regretfully, nothing on cures for MS.
Are you happy with these definitions that explain practically nothing? I’m definitely far from being happy. Nevertheless, as I see such things for years, I know what to do.
Explanations – on pages of my web site ‘Beyond MS’.
If you visit the most popular Multiple Sclerosis related web site of National Multiple Sclerosis Society (USA), you will be presented with this so seemingly elegant MS description:
Multiple sclerosis (or MS) is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system (CNS), which is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. Symptoms may be mild, such as numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision. The progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS are unpredictable and vary from one person to another. Today, new treatments and advances in research are giving new hope to people affected by the disease
Everything is perfectly clarified and put into order in this description:
- MS attacks Central Nervous System
- MS symptoms severity vary
- MS progress is unpredictable
- Today [everyday?] new MS researches propose new treatments and so – hope
Nevertheless, this MS description is incorrect and heavily disorientating. Even a lay person, uneducated in modern medicine, could easily spot lots of misleading in this description:
- ABSOLUTE NONSENSE: CNS isn’t attacked by MS! MS is a set of symptoms that occur after warriors of de-regulated and overactive immune system finally destroy all CNS protections, and so start destroying CNS. I propose more correct MS description in my article MS causes
- Obvious: MS symptoms severity directly depend on immune system de-regulation magnitude and strategic importance of disabled area of CNS
- Obvious: MS progress is enigmatic and so – unpredictable — until you start healing your poor heavily diseased immune system
- Direct invitation to be passive and dependant! New research means more drugs. Therefore the only proposed option for any sick with MS person – rely upon MS drugs, generously produced by pharmaceutical industry. Isn’t knowledge that there are so great medical doctors and drug makers, readily available to help anybody sick, warming up? Certainly – until you know:
* * *
Problems of disorientating disease descriptions (created and proposed by conventional allopathic medicine), when set of symptoms are named as disease, are presented by a health ranger Mike Adams in his absolutely unexceptionable article Disease names like diabetes and osteoporosis are misleading and misinform patients about disease prevention. Excellent example:
I spotted a poster touting a new drug for osteoporosis. It was written by a drug company and it said exactly this: “Osteoporosis is a disease that causes weak and fragile bones”. Then, the poster went on to say that you need a particular drug to counteract this “disease”…
But it’s all hogwash. There is no such disease as osteoporosis. It’s just a made-up name given to a pattern of symptoms that indicate you’ve let your bones get fragile
Next the author proceeds with explanation of patient disorientating by some other diseases descriptions, including:
- high blood pressure
- high cholesterol
- diabetes
- cancer
- Alzheimer’s disease
This may all seem silly, right? But there’s actually a very important point to all this.
When we look at symptoms and give them disease names, we automatically distort the selection of available treatments for such a disease. If the disease is, by itself, high cholesterol, then the cure for the disease must be nothing other than lowering the high cholesterol. And that’s how we end up with all these pharmaceuticals treating high cholesterol in order to “prevent” this disease and lower the levels of LDL cholesterol in the human patient.
But there is a fatal flaw in this approach to disease treatment:
the symptom is not the cause of the disease
Another disease that is named after its symptom is cancer. In fact, to this day, most doctors and many patients still believe that cancer is a physical thing: a tumor. In reality, a tumor is only a side effect of cancer, not its cause. A tumor is simply a physical manifestation of a cancer pattern that is expressed by the body. When a person “has cancer,” what they really have is a sluggish immune system. And that would a far better name for the disease: Sluggish Immune System Disease or SISD.
If cancer were actually called Sluggish Immune System Disease, it would seem ridiculous to try to cure cancer by cutting out tumors through surgery and by destroying the immune system with chemotherapy. And yet these are precisely the most popular treatments for cancer offered by conventional medicine. These treatments do absolutely nothing to support the patient’s immune system and prevent further occurrences of cancer. That’s exactly why most people who undergo chemotherapy or the removal of tumors through surgical procedures end up with yet more cancer a few months or a few years later. It’s also another reason why survival rates of cancer have barely budged over the last twenty years. Put simply, conventional medicine’s treatments for cancer simply don’t work.
…in western medicine, the name of the disease seems to be intended to obscure the root cause of the disease, thereby making all diseases sound far more complex and mysterious than they really are
* * *
This fantastic article is real eye-opener. Enclosed information is compulsory for anybody who wants to live a really healthy and productive life. In other words – for anybody who is trying to reduce distance between lifespan and healthspan.
Mike Adams finishes his nice article these words:
Don’t believe the names of diseases given to you by your doctor. Those names are designed to obscure, not to inform. They are designed to separate you from self-healing, not to put you in touch with your own inner healer. And thus, they are nothing more than bad medicine masquerading as modern medical practice
I was enjoying so bright and rich New Zealand sun the other day and celebrating my 12-th MS remission year
Suddenly I realized, how really easy can be to prevent Multiple Sclerosis
Definitely, these are my speculations only, but please take a look. I even figured out, that there are several quite simple MS prevention strategies:
- Change absolutely nothing!
Simple estimation can definitely confirm that any change has absolutely no sense:
- There is around ~ 1,5 million MS sufferers over the world
- There is around ~ 6 billion humans on Earth
- Thus probability to catch MS is around 0.00025 (my rough estimation)
- As eventuality to get caught with MS is so negligible (if above estimation is correct, roughly 1 person in ~ 4,000 gets MS) and it’s real cause never exactly known, any advice is neither practical nor accurate
- Concerned? – Change something!
It’s absolutely up to you, what and how much you change:
- diet and nutrition
- exposure to chemicals
- contact with heavy metals etc
- The less contacts with immune system de-regulating and suppressing agents you have, the more healthy you are
You may ask: “Is it possible to prevent MS?”
I am not 100% sure, but today my answer is YES
* * *
However, that’s absolutely different story, when trying to prevent [any] chronic degenerative (including autoimmune) disease.
That decidedly is directly associated with succession of pro-active acts. Absolutely biggest segment of all these diseases have very close origins (see MS causes).
That’s absolutely ‘personal luck’ of anybody experiencing degenerative disorder, which disorder he or she got. Most probably it depends of personal inner constitution (genes), mixture of toxic cocktail a sufferer was exposed to, exposure dosage and duration.
Look:
Nobody really knows who was the first to discover this so simple truth:
Best cure – prevention
I completely agree, however, I’d like to add this:
As you never know, what you are preventing and how much, never forget, what and why you’re trying to achieve
Want a proof?
1. Look what is explaining us MS treatment related report “Commercial Insight: Multiple Sclerosis Continued growth makes the MS market a highly attractive investment”:
- This report focuses on the leading disease-modifying therapies used to treat MS, with seven major market (7MM) sales and volume forecasts to 2016
- Assessment of current and future opportunities and threats in the MS market across the 7MMs
- Future market events that are expected to affect drug revenues are discussed and quantified for each of the 7MMs
- Lifecycle management case studies show how previously successful strategies should be applied in the current and future MS market
- The dynamic MS market continues to grow unabated; seven major market revenues increased 14.7% from 2005 to $4.6 billion in 2006. Growth is driven by the highly successful beta-interferon brands, Teva’s Copaxone (glatiramer acetate), and the recent relaunch of Tysabri; the first launch of a new MS treatment for six years.
- There remains a large opportunity for current and future players to cement and develop their positions in the MS market. To ensure continued revenue and to minimize franchise risk companies can follow Biogen Idec’s strategy to market two or more products and show commitment to the MS community through long-term franchise investment.
- In order to successfully position a new drug class in the market, future market players must have a clear and focused marketing strategy. With Copaxone launched in 1997 Teva has set the benchmark, and by utilizing similar tactics, future MS players can successfully position novel therapies in the market.
etc
Isn’t it a mystery for layman? [I tried to translate some used terms]
- MS market = Multiple Sclerosis sufferers
- MS players = Drugs makers (big pharma)
- Marketing strategy = ways to persuade MS-ers to use drugs etc
- Attractive investment = huge profit
2.Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada explains in article Easier access to multiple sclerosis treatments will reduce overall healthcare costs:
- early and easy access to MS treatment options has the potential to improve quality of life and significantly reduce healthcare costs
- cost of MS to the Canadian economy is estimated to be more than $1 billion per year
- improving the health of Canadians with MS can reduce the societal cost of caring for them. This could include benefits derived from the use of existing treatments
- universal drug coverage of MS therapies … can cost up to $40,000 per year
- annual lifetime cost of the disease [MS] is estimated at $1.6 million per person
3. News from MS market ‘07
4. MS Treatment Market will Reach $11.9 Billion by 2011
* * *
So what really happens?
Look:
Always remember that the drug companies are trying to sell you something. They’re not really concerned whether you’re sick, well, get healthy, or stay ill; they just want to get you to buy their products. And they will do whatever it takes to do that, including selling you cures for diseases that don’t even exist
- explains worldwide known natural health doctor Joseph Mercola
* * *
Nothing on Earth happens without a reason
* * *
Is allopathic medicine the best?
The Allopathic medicine and its crusade against disease always needed the enemy (germ). The magic bullet ideology in this approach was sanctioned when antibiotics were discovered to be effective against these invaders. From this point next was the quest for a pill for every ill and the aspiration to eradicate all other diseases the same way.
Main differences between Allopathic and Holistic medicine approaches are shortly described in a separate article Allopathic vs. Holistic Medicine
As allopathic medicine and drug makers seems to have no idea what their drugs should treat (or kill), all their produced drugs, apart of having serious side effects, are strictly experimental – read article Orthodox MS symptoms treatment
* * *
There are some objective (system-independent) as well as subjective (system-dependent) reasons making Multiple Sclerosis impossible to treat.
Objective reasons
Obviously, the main attribute of allopathic (orthodox) medicine is seeking for the only specific disease cause (germ) and therefore – for the only specific drug (silver bullet).
However, no degenerative disease has a specific cause, and therefore – there is no specific treatment. More details (philosophic, if you like), can be found in an article My Health Manifesto.
All so-called Multiple Sclerosis drugs are experimental – Allopathic medicine officially does not know the MS reason! More details – in an article Orthodox MS symptoms treatment.
Sad to say, but all so called MS drugs are oriented towards the Immune System suppression. It is quite easy to imagine, how dangerous living in such a case can be – anything from flu to cancer can easily visit a person with a suppressed (weak, sluggish) immune system.
Subjective reasons
Present pharmaceutical business is the most profitable. To stay in such a profitable position, this multi-billion business must constantly search for new ways to expand the market.
As it happens, there exist possibilities (ways) to purchase favourable results for any pharmaceutical. These ways are thoroughly described in an article Medical Journals Are an Extension of the Marketing Arm of Pharmaceutical Companies.
Richard Smith, former editor for the British Medical Journal for 25 years, describes dirty ways pharmaceutical companies are engaging to publish results they want.
By the way, MS Societies and Universities have been involved too
Advantages of MS ?
Yes, you read correctly. There many advantages in Multiple Sclerosis.
I shortly described them in article Advantages of MS ! ? !
As one can see, MS has many positive aspects, although there is a certain amount of discomfort for those directly concerned.
* * *
Who wonders why, in a situation such as this, that no solutions have been found to cure this illness. Research seems to be done mainly on a microbiological level concerning the primary inflammation. Perhaps, on this level, there is the possibility of finding something similarly lucrative to the interferons that are momentarily in use. This seems to be a rather complicated way of trying to find the cause of MS. The rather meager results that have been attained, confirm this impression.
Other attempts to find solutions [natural, nutritional etc] for MS hardly find any interest. There are for example diverse epidemiological studies concerning MS, that open many other points of view. The Canadian geologist Dr. Ashton F. Embry (his son has MS) collected these studies and tried to come to conclusions of how to treat MS (www.direct-ms.com). His aim was to identify the cause of MS and thus to improve or even cure the disease. His results should perhaps be more consequently followed up.
It is difficult to avoid the impression that only MS-patients have a real interest in curing their disease. How can it otherwise be possible, that such simple thoughts have not been followed up by professional research projects?
*
Reality check: there are some very powerful forces around (subjective as well as objective) that will never make Multiple Sclerosis treatable.
At the same time there are other – user-friendly, natural, nasty and dangerous side effects-free ways to deal with symptoms of MS and other autoimmune diseases.
By the way, I managed to reverse my MS symptoms and stay on a permanent Multiple Sclerosis remission from 1996, using no dangerous pharmaceutical drugs.
Dr. Czes Kulvis
There are various, sometimes contrary, opinions concerning the type of food that should be consumed by MS patients
MS and Food Allergies
Very good scientific research based review is presented in a Life Extension Foundation website:
Allergies to certain foods may also play a role in the development or exacerbation of MS. MS is most prevalent in areas where consumption of wheat gluten and milk are also high… This relationship has not been proven conclusively, but allergies may play some role in the onset or severity of MS.
Components of some foods may act as triggers to the immune system, causing it to begin an inappropriate autoimmune response similar to the body’s autoimmune response to bacteria and viruses…
Apart from specific cross-reactions to food proteins, a majority of patients who have MS reportedly have a variety of digestive system deficits, including poor digestive enzyme production, poor digestion of fats and proteins, and suboptimal absorption of various nutrients, including vitamin B12…
…some patients who have MS who were treated for yeast infections—and who subsequently had their gut microflora recolonized with friendly probiotic organisms (such as those present in active yogurt cultures)—experienced significant improvement in their MS symptoms…
All other MS and nutrition related versions are mainly personal:
- lots of different opinions are collected and presented in a PaleoDiet.com website special page Multiple Sclerosis and Dietary Intervention. No doubt, such a diet could be very helpful to some (gluten and/or casein sensitive) multiple sclerosis sufferers. However, other MS-ers (me including) can worsen their situation on such a diet. Additionally, it is necessary to consider that this website is created by a paleo diet advocate
- “In 1995 my son received the devastating diagnosis of MS. Having been a research scientist for 30 years, I decided to plunge into the scientific literature for MS to determine the most likely factors which cause MS and to use this information to develop an effective therapy for my son…
“I discovered abundant scientific evidence that indicates that various nutritional factors potentially play major roles in the onset and progression of MS. Strangely, this information was not being made available to persons with MS by doctors nor by established MS charities…”
That’s the introduction to the nice and very informative website direct-ms.org, created by Canadian geologist, who’s son got MS and successfully recovered using paleo diet
- DAIRY PRODUCTS. All dairy products must be non-fat or contain no more than 1 gram of saturated fat per serving. The recommended daily amount is two (2) servings… The following foods are permissible in any amount: non-fat milk or skimmed milk, powdered skimmed milk, non-fat or dry curd cottage cheese, fat-free cheese…
These are basics of a well known Swank low-fat MS diet, developed and widely used for decades by a MD Roy L Swank. This diet is mainly a kind of paleo diet
- Dr. Kwasniewski claims to have major success, treating M.S. using the Homo Optimus diet. The Homo Optimus diet is a diet with a strict ratio of 1:3 protein/fat and only allows a maximum amount of 50 grams of carbohydrates each day. Fats are all animal fats (including butter, cream, etc) and proteins are all animal proteins…
Dr. Kwasniewski says to use 150 grams or pork brain and pork spinal tissue per week. This diet will, according to Kwasniewski, immediately upon starting, stop the degeneration, i.e. it will halt the disease. Depending on how long the disease existed, it will also start healing the damage already done, up to a certain extent.
These are basics of MS diet ‘Homo Optimus’, developed by a Polish MD Kwasniewski. It is definitely opposite to paleo diet and based on animal fat.
All above described diets are similar in few aspects:
- processed foods completely prohibited
- diet applied to all MS sufferers same way
However, some crucial to my opinion aspects are missing:
- diet is not targeted to eliminate or at least reduce possible MS causes
- personal peculiarities are completely ignored
All above information should only be considered as helpful suggestions. Each person is an individual and reacts differently to the various food substances. It is substantial that all individuals should observe their reactions precisely and then choose what is good for them
Disease never comes without a cause
The way is prepared, and disease invited, by disregard of the laws of health
- For the first 5000 years of civilization, humans relied on foods and herbs for medicine. Only in the past 50 years or so have we forgotten our medicinal “roots” in favor of patent medicines. While pharmaceuticals have their value, we should not forget the well-documented, non-toxic and inexpensive healing properties of whole foods. Therefore never forget of the health benefits from whole foods
- A simple, natural diet and specific supplements may help or even cure many people with MS – sometimes significantly, though these are not sanctioned by most Multiple Sclerosis organizations. These approaches will likely yield greater benefits in the early, rather than late, stages of MS
- Interestingly, people with Multiple Sclerosis have been found to have a wide variety of nutritional deficits, and many of these deficits are the same ones that cause osteoporosis, as well as many of the symptoms of MS. It is unlikely that this is a set of random coincidences, but more apt to be a logical sequence of causes and effects
- Perhaps MS, like many other chronic conditions, is the result not of a singular genetic, viral or environmental event, but rather the result of a wide variety of factors that may be different for different people
- Logically, any one MS study considered alone does not explain the results of the other studies. A number of studies have linked MS to pollution, lack of sunlight exposure or essential fatty acids and many other factors. However, any one of these studies, taken individually, does not logically explain the findings of the other studies
- Positive diet changes is always a good thing to do, and it has minimal costs
