- MS disease activity in mice lowered with ‘inverse vaccine’… Multiple Sclerosis News Today
- New Vaccine Can Completely Reverse Autoimmune Diseases Like Multiple Sclerosis, Type 1 Diabetes, and Crohn’s Disease SciTechDaily
- UChicago vaccine could end MS, type 1 diabetes Crain’s Chicago Business
- “Inverse Vaccine” Could Reverse Symptoms Of Multiple Autoimmune Diseases IFLScience
- “Inverse Vaccine” Could Treat Multiple Sclerosis and Range of Other Autoimmune Diseases Inside Precision Medicine
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Tag Archives: Sclerosis
New Vaccine Can Completely Reverse Autoimmune Diseases Like Multiple Sclerosis, Type 1 Diabetes, and Crohn’s Disease – SciTechDaily
- New Vaccine Can Completely Reverse Autoimmune Diseases Like Multiple Sclerosis, Type 1 Diabetes, and Crohn’s Disease SciTechDaily
- COVID vaccine pill that kills virus before it infects the body could be coming New York Post
- “Inverse vaccine” shows promise to reverse autoimmune diseases without shutting down rest of the immune system News-Medical.Net
- Get ready for Covid vaccine PILLS! Researchers develop oral shot that kills virus BEFORE it infects the body Daily Mail
- Rapid acting, oral vaccines could be coming soon Medical Xpress
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Three MS therapies listed as WHO essential medicines | Multiple… – Multiple Sclerosis News Today
- Three MS therapies listed as WHO essential medicines | Multiple… Multiple Sclerosis News Today
- WHO updates list of essential medicines to include heart ‘polypills,’ MS treatments but not weight-loss drugs CNN
- Weight loss drugs not in latest WHO essential medicines list (NYSE:NVO) Seeking Alpha
- Some Cancer Drugs Excluded From New WHO Essential Medicines List Because Of Cost Health Policy Watch
- WHO endorses landmark public health decisions on Essential Medicines for Multiple Sclerosis World Health Organization
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Poor Gut Health May Drive Multiple Sclerosis, but a Better Diet May Ease It
Summary: Researchers found significantly higher levels of Lcn-2 levels in the stools of patients with multiple sclerosis. This marker correlated with reduced bacterial diversity and increases in other markers of intestinal inflammation. Bacteria that ease inflammatory bowel disease were also reduced in MS patients with high fecal levels of Lcn-2 levels.
Source: Rutgers University
Researchers from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School’s Department of Neurology have traced a previously observed link between microscopic organisms in the digestive tract—collectively known as the gut microbiome—and multiple sclerosis (MS).
Their study in genetically altered mice and people supports the belief that dietary adjustments such as increased fiber may slow MS progression, and they are already working to test the effect of dietary interventions in MS patients.
“Unhealthy dietary habits such as low fiber and high fat consumption may have contributed to the steep rise of MS in the US,” said Kouichi Ito, an associate professor of neurology and senior author of the study published in Frontiers in Immunology. “In nations where people still eat more fiber, MS is far less common.”
MS is a degenerative condition in which the body’s immune system attacks the protective covering of nerves in the brain, spinal cord and eyes. According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, it affects nearly 1 million adults in the United States.
Several previous studies have differentiated the microbiomes of MS patients and healthy subjects, but, Ito said, they all noted different abnormalities, so it was impossible to tell what change, if any, was driving disease progression.
The Rutgers study, which was led by research associate Sudhir Kumar Yadav, used mice engineered with MS-associated genes to trace the link between alterations in the gut bacteria and an MS-like condition called experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE).
As these mice matured—and simultaneously developed EAE and a gut inflammatory condition called colitis—the researchers observed increased recruitment of inflammatory cells (neutrophils) to the colon and production of an anti-microbial protein called lipocalin 2 (Lcn-2).
The study team then looked for evidence that the same process occurred in people with MS and found significantly elevated Lcn-2 levels in patient stool. This marker correlated with reduced bacterial diversity and increased levels of other markers of intestinal inflammation. Additionally, bacteria that seem to ease inflammatory bowel disease were reduced in MS patients with higher levels of fecal Lcn-2.
The study suggests that fecal Lcn-2 levels may be a sensitive marker for detecting unhealthy changes in the gut microbiome of MS patients. It also provides further evidence that high-fiber diets, which reduce gut inflammation, may help fight MS.
Rutgers is looking to test that hypothesis soon. Suhayl Dhib-Jalbut, a co-senior author of the paper who heads the medical school’s neurology department, is recruiting patients with MS for a trial that will determine how their microbiomes and immune systems are affected by a high-fiber supplement developed by Rutgers Microbiologist Liping Zhao.
About this multiple sclerosis and microbiome research news
Author: Press Office
Source: Rutgers University
Contact: Press Office – Rutgers University
Image: The image is in the public domain
Original Research: Open access.
“Fecal Lcn-2 level is a sensitive biological indicator for gut dysbiosis and intestinal inflammation in multiple sclerosis” by Sudhir K. Yadav et al. Frontiers in Immunology
Abstract
Fecal Lcn-2 level is a sensitive biological indicator for gut dysbiosis and intestinal inflammation in multiple sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) has been reported to be associated with intestinal inflammation and gut dysbiosis.
To elucidate the underlying biology of MS-linked gut inflammation, we investigated gut infiltration of immune cells during the development of spontaneous experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in humanized transgenic (Tg) mice expressing HLA-DR2a and human T cell receptor (TCR) specific for myelin basic protein peptide (MBP87-99)/HLA-DR2a complexes.
See also
Strikingly, we noted the simultaneous development of EAE and colitis, suggesting a link between autoimmune diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) and intestinal inflammation.
Examination of the colon in these mice revealed the infiltration of MBP-specific Th17 cells as well as recruitment of neutrophils.
Furthermore, we observed that fecal Lipocalin-2 (Lcn-2), a biomarker of intestinal inflammation, was significantly elevated and predominantly produced by the gut-infiltrating neutrophils.
We then extended our findings to MS patients and demonstrate that their fecal Lcn-2 levels are significantly elevated compared to healthy donors (HDs).
The elevation of fecal Lcn-2 levels correlated with reduced bacterial diversity and increased levels of other intestinal inflammation markers including neutrophil elastase and calprotectin.
Of interest, bacteria thought to be beneficial for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) such as Anaerobutyricum, Blautia, and Roseburia, were reduced in fecal Lcn-2-high MS patients.
We also observed a decreasing trend in serum acetate (a short-chain fatty acid) levels in MS Lcn-2-high patients compared to HDs. Furthermore, a decrease in the relative abundance of Blautia massiliensis was significantly associated with a reduction of acetate in the serum of MS patients.
This study suggests that gut infiltration of Th17 cells and recruitment of neutrophils are associated with the development of gut dysbiosis and intestinal inflammation, and that fecal Lcn-2 level is a sensitive biological indicator for gut dysbiosis in multiple sclerosis.
A Connection Between Diabetes Medications and Multiple Sclerosis
Summary: People over the age of 45 who use anti-hyperglycemic medications to control their Type 2 diabetes are at increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis. However, those who are under 45 and take anti-hyperglycemic medications are at reduced risk of MS.
Source: University of Arizona
A new University of Arizona Health Sciences study found that people older than 45 whose Type 2 diabetes was treated with anti-hyperglycemic medications had an increased risk of multiple sclerosis, particularly among women, while anti-hyperglycemic exposure in people younger than 45 reduced that risk.
“Our findings reinforce the need for a precision medicine approach to preventing MS in these vulnerable populations,” said lead researcher Kathleen Rodgers, PhD, associate director of translational neuroscience at the Center for Innovation in Brain Science.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an unpredictable autoimmune neurological disorder that affects the central nervous system and leads to severe physical and cognitive disability. It is estimated that nearly 1 million adults in the U.S. and more than 2.8 million worldwide are living with MS.
For people with Type 2 diabetes, there is mounting evidence linking metabolic disorders and MS through a common driver of increased autoimmunity. This brings into question the impact of anti-hyperglycemic therapeutics used to treat Type 2 diabetes, including insulin, on the incidence of MS.
“Previous research has shown a neuroprotective effect of anti-hyperglycemic medications in Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias,” Dr. Rodgers said. “For MS, we wanted to further examine age and sex differences, particularly among men and women under 45 with Type 2 diabetes.”
They found that men older than 45 years old had a slightly significant increase of MS risk and women older than 45 years exhibited a significant increase in MS incidence after anti-hyperglycemic exposure. In addition to age differences, the risk analysis by drug class showed that exposure to insulin in patients older than 45 years old was associated with a greater increased risk compared with other therapies.
In patients younger than 45, anti-hyperglycemic exposure was protective against the development of MS.
The study utilized a U.S.-based insurance claims database of 151 million participants to identify more than 5 million patients with a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes and either early-onset or late-onset MS. Researchers segmented the data by age – patients diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes prior to or after age 45 – and sex to decode the factors driving MS risk in both populations, especially in women over 45 years of age.
The paper, “Age and sex differences on anti-hyperglycemic medication exposure and risk of newly diagnosed multiple sclerosis in propensity score-matched type 2 diabetics,” was published recently in the journal Heliyon.
Co-authors from the Center for Innovation in Brian Science include Roberta Diaz Brinton, PhD, director and Regents Professor; Francesca Vitali, PhD, research assistant professor of neurology; Georgina Torrandell-Haro, doctoral candidate and graduate research assistant; and Gregory Branigan, PhD, third-year medical student in the UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson’s MD-PhD program.
Funding: This research was supported in part by the National Institute on Aging (P01AG026572, T32AG061897, R37AG053589) and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R25NS107185), both divisions of the National Institutes of Health.
About this multiple sclerosis and diabetes research news
Author: Gloria Bloomer
Source: University of Arizona
Contact: Gloria Bloomer – University of Arizona
Image: The image is in the public domain
Original Research: Open access.
“Age and sex differences on anti-hyperglycemic medication exposure and risk of newly diagnosed multiple sclerosis in propensity score matched type 2 diabetics” by Kathleen Rodgers et al. Heliyon
Abstract
Age and sex differences on anti-hyperglycemic medication exposure and risk of newly diagnosed multiple sclerosis in propensity score matched type 2 diabetics
See also
Background
The association between exposure to anti-hyperglycemic medications (A-HgM) for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2D) treatment and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in T2D patients is unclear.
Methods
This retrospective cohort analysis used the Mariner claims database. Patient records were surveyed for a diagnosis of MS starting 12 months after diagnosis of T2D. Patients were required to be actively enrolled in the Mariner claims records for six months prior and at least three years after the diagnosis of T2D without a history of previous neurodegenerative disease. Survival analysis was used to determine the association between A-HgM exposure and diagnosis of MS. A propensity score approach was used to minimize measured and unmeasured selection bias. The analyses were conducted between January 1st and April 28th, 2021.
Findings
In T2D patients younger than 45, A-HgM exposure was associated with a reduced risk of developing MS (RR: 0.22, 95%CI: 0.17–0.29, p-value <0.001). In contrast, A-HgM exposure in patients older than 45 was associated with an increased risk of MS with women exhibiting greater risk (RR: 1.53, 95%CI: 1.39–1.69, p < 0.001) than men (RR: 1.17, 95%CI: 1.01–1.37, p = 0 · 04). Patients who developed MS had a higher incidence of baseline comorbidities. Mean follow-up was 6.2 years with a standard deviation of 1.8 years.
Interpretation
In this study, A-HgM exposure in patients with T2D was associated with reduced risk of MS in patients younger than 45 whereas in patients older than 45, exposure to A-HgM was associated with an increased risk of newly diagnosed MS, particularly in women.
Blood Stem Cell Transplant Could Reboot Immune System in Multiple Sclerosis Patients
Summary: 80% of patients with multiple sclerosis remain disease-free for the long term following an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant.
Source: University of Zurich
Every day, one person in Switzerland is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. MS is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s own immune system attacks the myelin sheath of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The disease leads to paralysis, pain and permanent fatigue, among other symptoms.
Fortunately, there have been great advances in therapies in recent decades. A study by the Department of Neuroimmunology and MS Research at the University of Zurich (UZH) and the Department of Medical Oncology and Haematology Clinic at the University Hospital Zurich (USZ) has now pinpointed why the most effective currently available therapy – a stem cell transplant – works so well.
Wiping out unwanted immune cells
“80 percent of patients remain disease-free long-term or even forever following an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant,” says recently retired Professor Roland Martin, study lead and last author.
The treatment is particularly suitable for younger people with aggressive forms of the disease. Four years ago, thanks to the high effectiveness of the treatment and the now low mortality rate, Martin’s department together with the USZ clinic were granted approval to administer the therapy. It is the only clinic in Switzerland approved for this treatment.
During the treatment, several chemotherapies completely destroy the patients’ immune system – including the subset of T cells which mistakenly attack their own nervous system.
The patients then receive a transplant of their own blood stem cells, which were harvested before the chemotherapy. The body uses these cells to build a completely new immune system without any autoreactive cells.
Systematic analysis of immune cells
“Previous studies have shown the basic workings of the method, but many important details and questions remained open,” says Martin. Some unclear aspects were what exactly happens after the immune cells are eliminated, whether any of them survive the chemotherapy, and whether the autoreactive cells really do not return.
In the recently published study, Martin’s team systematically investigated these questions for the first time by analyzing the immune cells of 27 MS patients who received stem cell therapy in Zurich. The analysis was done before, during and up to two years after treatment. This allowed the researchers to track how quickly the different types of immune cells regenerated
Successful reset of immune system
Surprisingly, the cells known as memory T cells, which are responsible for ensuring the body remembers pathogens and can react quickly in case of a new infection, reappeared immediately after the transplant.
Further analysis showed that these cells had not re-formed, but had survived the chemotherapy. These remnants of the original immune system nevertheless pose no risk for a return of MS: “They are pre-damaged due to the chemotherapy and therefore no longer able to trigger an autoimmune reaction,” explains Martin.
In the months and years following the transplant, the body gradually recreates the different types of immune cells. The thymus gland plays an important role in this process. This is where the T cells go to school, so to speak, and learn to distinguish foreign structures, such as viruses, from the body’s own.
“Adults have very little functioning tissue left in the thymus,” says Martin.
“But after a transplant, the organ appears to resume its function and ensures the creation of a completely new repertoire of T cells which evidently do not trigger MS or cause it to return.”
Further studies needed for wider approval
These findings have enabled the researchers to understand why stem cell transplants are usually so successful. But lamentably, says Martin, the treatment is not approved in many countries, as phase III studies are lacking.
“Phase III studies cost several hundred million euros, and pharmaceutical companies are only willing to conduct them if they will make money afterward.” This is not the case with stem cell therapy, as the drugs used are no longer patent-protected.
“I am therefore very pleased that we have succeeded in obtaining approval for the treatment from the Federal Office of Public Health and that health insurers are covering the costs,” Martin says. In the past, many MS sufferers from Switzerland had to travel to Moscow, Israel or Mexico to receive transplants.
See also
About this multiple sclerosis research news
Author: Kurt Bodenmueller
Source: University of Zurich
Contact: Kurt Bodenmueller – University of Zurich
Image: The image is in the public domain
Original Research: Open access.
“Dynamics of T cell repertoire renewal following autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in multiple sclerosis” by Roland Martin et al. Science Translational Medicine
Abstract
Dynamics of T cell repertoire renewal following autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in multiple sclerosis
Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (aHSCT) is a highly effective treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). It depletes autoreactive cells and subsequently renews adaptive immune cells.
The possible proinflammatory potential of surviving T cells early after aHSCT has not been studied.
Here, we examined the dynamics of new and surviving T cells in 27 patients after aHSCT by multidimensional flow cytometry, T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing, specificity testing, telomere length profiling, and HLA genotyping.
Early after aHSCT, naïve T cells are barely detectable, whereas effector memory (EM) T cells quickly reconstitute to pre-aHSCT values. EM CD4+ T cells early after aHSCT have shorter telomeres, have higher expression of senescence and exhaustion markers, and proliferate less than those before aHSCT.
We find a median TCR repertoire overlap of 26% between the early post-aHSCT EM CD4+ T cells and pre-aHSCT, indicating persistence of EM CD4+ T cells early after transplantation.
The EM CD4+ TCR repertoire overlap declines to 15% at 12 months after aHSCT, whereas the naïve TCR repertoire entirely renews. HLA-DR–associated EM CD4+ T cell reactivity toward MS-related antigens decreased after aHSCT, whereas reactivity toward EBV increased.
Our data show substantial survival of pre-aHSCT EM CD4+ T cells early after transplantation but complete renewal of the T cell repertoire by nascent T cells later.
Christina Applegate multiple sclerosis diagnosis: Actress discusses her resolve to finish the final season of ‘Dead To Me’
CNN
—
Christina Applegate is opening up about living with multiple sclerosis, and how finishing her acclaimed show “Dead to Me” was important to her.
The actress, 50, spoke with the New York Times for an article published on Tuesday, ahead of the premiere of the third and final season of her Netflix series later this month. Applegate reflected on what it was like to receive her MS diagnosis over the summer of 2021 during filming. At the time, production shut down for roughly five months as she began treatment for the autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system.
“There was the sense of, ‘Well, let’s get her some medicine so she can get better,’” Applegate said. “And there is no better. But it was good for me. I needed to process my loss of my life, my loss of that part of me. So I needed that time.”
The performer also noted that after that time, it wasn’t like she “came on the other side of it, like, ‘Woohoo, I’m totally fine.’ Acceptance? No. I’m never going to accept this. I’m pissed.”
She recalled even further back, how she began to experience balance and mobility issues as early as during production on the first season of “Dead to Me,” which premiered in May 2019.
“I wish I had paid attention,” she said. “But who was I to know?”
Over the production pause, Netflix had considered shutting the show down indefinitely in light of her health news. But Applegate felt that she “had an obligation” to both Liz Feldman, the creator “Dead to Me,” and Linda Cardellini, her friend and costar, as well as the story.
“The powers that be were like, ‘Let’s just stop. We don’t need to finish it. Let’s put a few episodes together.’ I said, ‘No. We’re going to do it, but we’re going to do it on my terms,’” she said.
And while Applegate said that finishing the series was the hardest thing that she has ever done, the crew and Cardellini, especially, had her back and supported her throughout.
“She was my champion, my warrior, my voice,” Applegate said of Cardellini. “It was like having a mama bear.”
But Cardellini told the Times that she “just wanted the best for the person that I love and care about and have the honor to work with.”
It was in keeping with her feelings on Applegate right from their very first meeting for the show. “I just had the immediate feeling that we were going have each other’s backs,” Cardellini said. “Jen and Judy [their characters in “Dead to Me”] support each other, love each other, help each other through things. Linda and Christina, the same thing.”
In addition to making sure to finish out the final season, it was also important to Applegate to do publicity for “Dead to Me” ahead of the Season 3 premiere on Netflix on November 17.
“This is the first time anyone’s going to see me the way I am,” she said. “I put on 40 pounds; I can’t walk without a cane. I want people to know that I am very aware of all of that.”
As for what viewers take away from the final season, the “Samantha Who?” star is hopeful, to a point.
“If people hate it, if people love it, if all they can concentrate on is, ‘Ooh, look at the cripple,’ that’s not up to me,” she said. “I’m sure that people are going to be, like, ‘I can’t get past it.’”
“Fine, don’t get past it, then,” she added. “But hopefully people can get past it and just enjoy the ride and say goodbye to these two girls.”
Woman with multiple sclerosis misdiagnosed for 13 YEARS, told by doctors pain was due to ‘exercise’
A woman with multiple sclerosis said she was misdiagnosed for 13 years, and was told by doctors that she should ‘exercise’ or make herself a ‘mixed drink’ to help her severe pain.
Lindsay Cohen Karp, 39, a children’s book author from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, said she was plagued with ‘debilitating fatigue, mobility issues, and pain’ for more than a decade.
She eventually became ‘incapable of walking’ since her stamina was so low – but medical professionals could not figure out what was wrong with her.
After spending 13 years searching for an answer, she was finally diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018 – a disease in which the immune system eats away at the protective covering of nerves, which disrupts communication between the brain and the body.
A woman with multiple sclerosis said she was misdiagnosed for 13 years, and was told by doctors that she should ‘exercise’ or make herself a ‘mixed drink’ to help her severe pain
Lindsay Cohen Karp, 39, a children’s book author from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, said she was plagued with ‘debilitating fatigue, mobility issues, and pain’ for more than a decade
Lindsay (seen with her sons) eventually became ‘incapable of walking’ since her stamina was so low – but medical professionals could not figure out what was wrong with her
And while she was scared of what the disease might do to her body, Lindsay recalled feeling an ‘overwhelming relief’ after being left in the dark about what was wrong with her for so many years.
‘I thought I’d dangle from the edge of the undiagnosed mountain for the remainder of my existence,’ she wrote in a recent essay for Insider.
The mother-of-two said she visited numerous doctors in an attempt to find out what was wrong with her – and she even traveled to other states.
‘I endured an unnecessary breast exam because the doctor demanded it,’ she recalled.
‘[Another] physician told me there was no answer to be had as my body continued to decline until merely existing was a struggle.
‘The futile suggestions had ranged from exercise to psychotherapy to a mixed drink, as if Smirnoff with a splash of cranberry juice could stop my body from declining.’
On her blog, she explained that while ‘walking and standing were difficult,’ she eventually ‘learned to live with her new body.’
‘I had to walk a short distance, sit and rest, and then do a little more,’ she explained.
‘My legs ached and felt as though they were running out of energy, like a car with a near empty gas tank.
‘I was poked, prodded and poked some more. Getting lab work done constantly was my new normal.
‘Somewhere deep in my overwhelmed brain, a voice told me to keep living my life. A particle of hope assured me that my continued medical search would eventually result in a diagnosis.’
Then, after 13 years, everything changed when one doctor performed an MRI and noticed ‘white spots’ on the image of her brain.
‘These are areas of demyelination,’ she remembered him telling her in her Insider essay. ‘Your spinal fluid showed evidence of inflammation. What we’re dealing with here is multiple sclerosis.’
After spending 13 years searching for an answer, she was finally diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018
Lindsay (seen with her husband and kids) recalled feeling an ‘overwhelming relief’ after being left in the dark about what was wrong with her for so many years
Lindsay began taking medication for the condition, which helped her body go back to ‘what it once was.’ And while she still has flare ups, she said she ‘finally recognizes herself again’
She said ‘his words filling her brain’ felt like ‘carbonation from a soda, fizzing through her mind and stifling her thoughts.’
‘It was a good day. An answer meant a treatment, and I deserved that more than anything,’ she explained.
Now, the writer (seen as a baby with her mom) said she thinks about the doctor who finally gave her a diagnosis ‘every day,’ explaining that he’s the only reason her ‘life still exists’ and that her two sons ‘have a mother’
‘He spoke definitively, as if 13 years of no diagnosis for symptoms like debilitating fatigue, mobility issues, and pain, was just a big misunderstanding.
‘The idea that one simple test provided the answer I’d lacked for 13 years seemed like a dream.’
Lindsay began taking medication for the condition, which helped her body go back to ‘what it once was.’ And while she still has flare ups, she said she ‘finally recognizes herself again.’
Now, the writer said she thinks about the doctor who finally gave her a diagnosis ‘every day,’ explaining that he’s the only reason her ‘life still exists’ and that her two sons ‘have a mother.’
‘I think of him every day. I recall his kind nature and his ability to think outside the box,’ she concluded.
‘I acknowledge my appreciation that the universe connected me to him and allowed him to guide me through the start of my MS journey.
‘Without him, I’d surely still be undiagnosed, incapable of walking, and with no stamina to go on. Without him, my boys wouldn’t have a mother.
‘Not many people can say their lives exist because of one good human. I can. And I will never forget it.’
She is now working a memoir detailing her experience, and often opens up about living with MS on her blog.
On her blog, she spoke out about not being able to participate in certain physical activities with her children
She said while she ‘can’t participate in every family activity,’ she has ‘found activities that fit her ability level’
‘There will always be days I spend on the sidelines,’ she wrote. ‘But my hope is that the times I am present will stand happily and strongly in the forefront of their minds’
In one post, she spoke out about not being able to participate in certain physical activities with her children.
‘I can’t participate in every family activity,’ she said. ‘The truth is, my children will remember events without me, and while I’m relieved they can have these experiences with my husband, part of me is mourning the memories I’ll never be a part of.’
While there’s some things she can’t do – like hiking – she said she has ‘found activities that fit her ability level,’ like going for bike rides.
‘When I’m on my bike, I feel as though my body is disease free,’ she continued.
‘The weakness I feel when walking vanishes as I pedal forward. With the wind in my face and my children beside me, we now form family memories they’ll never forget. And, thankfully, I am a part of these memories.
‘There will always be days I spend on the sidelines. My children will remember that I couldn’t be present for important milestones or adventures from time to time.
‘But my hope is that the times I am present will stand happily and strongly in the forefront of their minds.
‘Living with MS sometimes means missing wonderful days in my children’s lives, but it also means the times when I am present are that much more meaningful. And that makes it all worth it.’
Diet High in Guar Gum Fiber Limits Inflammation and Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms
Summary: Diets high in guar gum, a dietary fiber and common food additive extracted from guar beans, limit inflammation and delay the onset of multiple sclerosis in mouse models.
Source: University of British Columbia
Diets high in guar gum, a common food additive and dietary fibre, limited inflammation and delayed the onset of multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms in mice, according to new research by members of the University of British Columbia (UBC) Microbiology and Immunology department.
“The rapid increase of autoimmune and inflammatory disorders in industrialized countries in the last few decades indicates dietary choices are one environmental factor contributing to incidence,” said Dr. Lisa Osborne, senior researcher on the study and an assistant professor with UBC Microbiology and Immunology.
“Dietary fibres are potent modulators of immune responses and can control inflammation in multiple diseases, but they’re a very biochemically diverse family. Our study gives us a clearer window into the potential of several sources of fibre in maintaining immune health.”
Dr. Osborne and colleagues exposed groups of mice to a variety of diets—a control five percent cellulose fibre diet, a diet entirely lacking in dietary fibre, or diets enriched (30%) with fibre in either resistant starch, inulin, pectin, or guar gum. Quar gum was the only fibre type that significantly limited the MS-like symptoms.
Guar gum—guaran—is extracted from guar beans, and is often used as an additive to thicken and stabilize food and animal feed, and in industrial applications. India and Pakistan are major growers of the bean.
“Guar beans aren’t that common in western diets, and the gum isn’t used at these high levels as an additive in the west,” says Naomi Fettig, first author on the study and a PhD student with the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at UBC.
“Experts have consistently been saying fibre is good for you—and a variety of fibre sources is important to immune health—but there hasn’t been very much critical work into identifying how the body responds to different fibre types. It’s fascinating that this particular source has such an impact.”
In the US and Canada, the average daily intake of fibre is 15 grams—current recommendations are double that at 30 grams. The recommended values don’t take into account any specific fibre type.
“Incorporating guar beans might be challenging to achieve at the doses we gave to mice,” says Dr. Osborne. “But a guar gum derivative, partially hydrolyzed guar gum, is commercially available as a prebiotic.”
After the gum is broken down by the microbiota of mice, the resulting molecules appeared to reduce the activity and proliferation of a type of CD4+ T cells, Th1 cells, that play a key part in activating the autoimmune response. It’s that response that leads to MS-like symptoms in mice.
The effects of fibre on Th1 cells remained largely unknown prior to this study, and these findings suggest that the biochemical differences in fibre structures can influence diverse immune pathways.
Dr. Osborne and her lab now want to explore the potential benefits in humans—including developing a more detailed understanding of the molecular picture, which might help design therapeutics that offer the benefits of such high guar gum diets in a more practical form.
About this diet and multiple sclerosis research news
Author: Chris Balma
Source: University of British Columbia
Contact: Chris Balma – University of British Columbia
Image: The image is in the public domain
Original Research: Open access.
“Inhibition of Th1 activation and differentiation by dietary guar gum ameliorates experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis” by Lisa Osborne et al. Cell Reports
See also
Abstract
Inhibition of Th1 activation and differentiation by dietary guar gum ameliorates experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis
Highlights
- Individual dietary fiber sources have distinct impacts on T cell subsets
- The dietary fiber guar gum impairs Th1 polarization and alters migratory potential
- Guar gum elevates short-chain fatty acids but does not impact regulatory T cells
- Guar gum supplementation significantly delays autoimmune neuroinflammation
Summary
Dietary fibers are potent modulators of immune responses that can restrain inflammation in multiple disease contexts.
However, dietary fibers encompass a biochemically diverse family of carbohydrates, and it remains unknown how individual fiber sources influence immunity.
In a direct comparison of four different high-fiber diets, we demonstrate a potent ability of guar gum to delay disease and neuroinflammation in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, a T cell-mediated mouse model of multiple sclerosis.
Guar gum-specific alterations to the microbiota are limited, and disease protection appears to be independent of fiber-induced increases in short-chain fatty acid levels or regulatory CD4+ T cells. Instead, CD4+ T cells of guar gum-supplemented mice are less encephalitogenic due to reduced activation, proliferation, Th1 differentiation, and altered migratory potential.
These findings reveal specificity in the host response to fiber sources and define a pathway of fiber-induced immunomodulation that protects against pathologic neuroinflammation.
Retinal Test a New Prognostic Marker for Multiple Sclerosis Severity
Summary: Multiple sclerosis-associated retinal layer thinning predicts the severity of future relapses and the likelihood of disability.
Source: Medical University of Vienna
It is essential to assess the severity of multiple sclerosis (MS) in order to choose appropriate therapeutic measures, but this cannot be reliably done using existing methods.
A MedUni Vienna study now shows for the first time that the retina can be used as a prognostic marker.
Analyses revealed that retinal layer thinning as a result of an MS relapse predicts the severity of future relapses and, hence, the likelihood of disability.
The results of the study have now been published in Neurology.
Researchers led by Gabriel Bsteh and Thomas Berger from the Department of Neurology at MedUni Vienna/University Hospital Vienna, working in collaboration with the Department of Ophthalmology and Optometrics at MedUni Vienna/University Hospital Vienna, studied 167 MS patients over a period of more than three years.
They hypothesized that retinal damage due to relapse reflects the extent of damage in the brain. As the scientific analyses confirmed, the loss of approximately 5 µm (micrometers) of retinal layer thickness after optic neuritis equates to a doubling of the risk of permanent disability after the next relapse.
These predictions could be used as the basis for treatment decisions in future: the results of the study suggest that more aggressive treatment is indicated where there is significant retinal layer thinning than would be the case for a smaller degree of thinning. This is true even if the patient has no disability or only slight disability at the time of measurement.
Prognostic technique already available
The researchers used optical coherence tomography (OCT) to measure retinal layer thickness. OCT is an imaging technique that uses infrared light to produce high-resolution three-dimensional images of very thin layers of tissue in the micrometer range (1 micrometer=1 thousandth of a millimeter). It is already used as a tool for diagnosing eye diseases such as glaucoma, and for evaluating disease progression.
“The technique for predicting the course of MS is therefore already available to us,” said Gabriel Bsteh, first author of the study. “As we discovered in the course of our clinical trial, measurements should be taken at initial diagnosis, directly when optic neuritis occurs in relapsing MS, and six months thereafter.”
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The retina as a window to the brain
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease that leads to the loss of axons and neurons throughout the entire nervous system. Although this damage often goes unnoticed by patients at first, its extent determines the prognosis for the severity of the disease.
Since predictions about the course of the disease are important in MS for selecting the appropriate treatment, medical research has long been searching for reliable prognostic tools.
“In retinal layer thickness, we have found a new biomarker that represents a window to the brain, as it were,” said Gabriel Bsteh, summarizing the essence of the study. If the results are confirmed in larger follow-up studies, the technique could also be applied in routine clinical practice.
About this multiple sclerosis research news
Author: Press Office
Source: Medical University of Vienna
Contact: Press Office – Medical University of Vienna
Image: The image is in the public domain
Original Research: The findings will appear in Neurology