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MS brings a daughter closer to her mother as they search for ways to stay healthy, despite the disease.
By Amy Meisner-Threet, MSW, with Florence Meisner, RN
Like many mothers and daughters, as each of us became more independent from each other over the years, it became harder for my mother and I to communicate with each other. It was almost comical. As my mom began to have some hearing loss over the last few years, she claimed to be able to “hear everyone but my daughter.” I do have kind of a gravelly voice (think Demi Moore or [...]
Ed Lash on training the body to fight Multiple [...]
By Ed Lash
Probably the most important reason for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to be exercising is that exercise tends to put the various body systems back into balance. And since MS seems to be a disease of an immune system out of balance, it seems that exercise should be of paramount importance. Not only that, but one doctor said that stress is what puts the immune system out of balance in the first place, and exercise is believed by many experts to be the best stress management technique.
If you are not already exercising, it may be wise to [...]
By Ed Lash
A short time ago I read an article about two major medical associations encouraging doctors to prescribe normal medication for a disease, plus the medicine that aids more ills than any other: exercise.
In my book Multiple Sclerosis…A Patient’s View, I said pretty much the same about multiple sclerosis (MS): “I do feel, as most professionals do, that a healthy lifestyle is a significant factor in order to manage any chronic disease, whether a person is on medication or not.” As I also mentioned in my book, a healthy lifestyle includes good nutrition, proper rest, and regular moderate [...]
Researchers in the US and Italy are investigating whether the opioid receptor antagonist naltrexone, in a low dose, can relieve symptoms of multiple sclerosis.
By Ronald Hoffman, MD, and Skip Lenz, Pharm D, FASCP
Last month, Action looked at a new use of the drug naltrexone, which was invented to combat addictions to heroin and other opiods, that has the potential to treat a range of neurological and other conditions when taken at a low-dose. (That article, “Low-Dose Naltrexone (LDN) and MS,” is available here).
This month we will look at three studies around the world that are testing the ability [...]
By Ed Lash
Controlled clinical trials have not been done for allergies and multiple sclerosis (MS). Many neurologists feel that this would be necessary for proof of efficacy. The National MS Society also feels that way, but states that “Good general health, sustained by a well-balanced diet is still the recommendation of our Medical Advisory Board, and the appropriate treatment of allergies and infections is always recommended for optimal general health and well-being.”
Part 1 of ALLERGY AND MS, in last month’s edition of Action, mentioned a book that discussed allergy and MS. Another interesting book with this subject is MS: Something [...]
What we know about multiple sclerosis now, and what we have yet to discover.
By Tom Scott
Jean-Martin Charcot, professor of Neurology at the University of Paris, was the first to complete a detailed study of multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system. In 1868, Charcot analyzed some unusual symptoms in a young female patient—tremor, slurred speech, and abnormal eye movements—comparing them to other patients with similar symptoms. He documented his observations and wrote a clinical-pathological defi nition of MS that is still accurate today. The three major signs of MS—diplopia (double vision), ataxia (disturbances of balance [...]
Naltrexone, in a low dose, can boost the immune system – potentially helping those with central nervous system disorders like multiple sclerosis.
By Ronald Hoffman, MD, and Skip Lenz, Pharm D FASCP
“LDN may well be the most important therapeutic breakthrough in over fi fty years,” says David Gluck, MD, editor of www.ldninfo.org, a Web site detailing the uses of low-dose Naltrexone (LDN). “It provides a new method of medical treatment by mobilizing the natural defenses of one’s own immune system.”
Naltrexone was approved by the FDA in 1984 in a 50 mg dose for the purpose of helping heroin or opium [...]
By Ed Lash
In her book, Multiple Sclerosis, a Self-help Guide to Its Management, Judy Graham tells the story of Rita Greer whose husband, Alan, had a particularly severe case of multiple sclerosis (MS). They tried everything and everyone to fi nd him a cure until their money was exhausted. Their poverty was such that they no longer could afford meat, after which it was noticed that Alan slowly began to improve. Rita deduced that their new austere diet must be the key, and through trial and error discovered that Alan didn’t do as well when eating meat and certain other foods. [...]
By Ed Lash
When I became interested in learning more about aging and multiple sclerosis (MS), I wrote to the Information Resource Center of the National MS Society for information and received the following reply, “In general, MS tends to stabilize with age. It has been referred to as ‘burnout’.” A short article sent with their response concerned a study that seemed to confirm that progression due to aging is not inevitable with MS. Since I was already well into my sixties at the time, this was certainly good news to me.
Some symptoms of aging are similar to those with [...]
Degeneration
Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) recently discovered that a specific form of estrogen can prevent degeneration (a process by which a tissue deteriorates, loses functional activity, and may become converted into or replaced by other kinds of tissue) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) without increasing their risks of developing estrogen-induced cancers. Although there are numerous anti-inflammatory drugs on the market that help prevent MS flare-ups and physical symptoms such as loss of coordination and numbness, there are none that specifically combat degeneration of the brain and spinal cord.
In a recent article published in UCLA Today, [...]
North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis (NARCOMS) is a project of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC), a not-for-profit professional organization for MS healthcare providers and researchers. The administrative office of NARCOMS, located at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, maintains the largest voluntary, patient driven Multiple Sclerosis (MS) registry in the world. Over the past 10 years, more than 32,000 people with MS, including over 4,000 veterans, have participated in the registry by submitting health-related data by mail or online. Registry data have already been featured in 17 peer-reviewed journal articles and over 50 scientific posters and presentations.
The purpose [...]
By Ed Lash
One of the most common complications with multiple sclerosis (MS) is a tricky bladder, primarily regarding frequency and urgency. This may cause some people to limit their fluid intake, thereby reducing the flushing action to eliminate waste products through the urinary tract and often resulting in a low-grade bladder infection, which only makes their bladder problem worse. An average of three pints of fluid goes out through urine daily. If the infection persists, a full-blown bladder infection may occur, which could not only bring on further MS symptoms, but may even lead to a life-threatening kidney infection. The symptoms [...]
By Ed Lash
A sufficient amount of water is important for everyone, especially for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). According to an issue of the University of California at Berkely Wellness Letter, “Water is the basis of all body fluids, including digestive juices, blood, urine, lymph, and perspiration. All cell processes and all organ functions depend on it. It’s essential as a lubricant: as the basis of saliva, mucous secretions through-out the body, and the fluids that bathe the joints. Water is needed to keep food moving through the intestinal tract and to eliminate wastes; it helps prevent constipation. Water also helps regulate [...]
Make SSDI Work for People with Chronic Illness
I wanted to write to you about the single most important issue (outside of a cure) affecting U.S. citizens who suffer from serious chronically disabling diseases, such as multiple sclerosis.
Two months ago, I launched a grassroots initiative to change the way Social Security Disability benefits are awarded to victims of MS and other chronically disabling illnesses.
My goal is to gather 10,000 signatures within the next year in order to establish credibility at the federal level. I am also in the process of forming a coalition panel of various chronic illness organization leaders, [...]
Acorda Enrolls First Patient in Phase 3 MS Study
Acorda Therapeutics recently announced that it has begun a second Phase 3 clinical study of Fampridine-SR in multiple sclerosis (MS), with the randomization of its first patient into the treatment phase of the study. The study is expected to enroll approximately 200 patients at 35 leading MS clinical centers in the United States and Canada. Fifteen centers have been initiated and are in the process of screening subjects for the trial.
The MS-F204 study, which is conducted under a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), will evaluate [...]
By Ed Lash
In the last two columns, we looked at a surprisingly common aspect of multiple sclerosis (MS): the tendency of some people with MS to never perspire, even in warm and humid weather. We discussed some of the relatively serious health issues related to non-perspiration. Now we are going to look at methods to counter this deficit.
By Ed Lash
As I mentioned in part one of this article in the previous issue, I was amazed at the answers I received when I asked at my multiple sclerosis (MS) support groups, “Do you perspire?” A number of people told me they did not perspire at all, or perspired hardly at all. Many had problems with normal sweating, but most had never thought of it as a symptom of MS. Except for occasional cool baths or swimming, however, hardly anyone took any other corrective action, or even thought there was much they could do. Almost no one mentioned it to [...]
By Ed Lash
Multiple sclerosis (MS) poses many baffling questions. For example, why is it that some people with MS are affected by heat to such a great degree that they will be in a state of fatigue from the normal slight rise in body temperature which occurs in all of us each afternoon, while others with MS are not inconvenienced by this or other heat situations at all?
MS Solidarity
Although I have only been a member of United Spinal Association for a short time, I wish to express my gratitude and appreciation for the information you provide.
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