Active Bioscience has licensed Laquinimod to Teva Neuroscience, maker of Copaxone. Currently in Phase III clinical trials, the pill may come as welcome relief to those on injection therapies . Read full release here.
Sponsored by: Multiple Sclerosis for Dummies
Since 2006, I have participated in the NARCOMS semi-annual MS survey. I feel better than I ever have… and here’s why. Here is the letter I recently sent them:
—
Dear NARCOMS,
Thank you for your survey. Since first participating in your survey I’ve adopted a diet that is free of: gluten, eggs, legumes (except soya), peanuts, carbonated beverages, and fermented alcohols. I have consistently taken Copaxone, vitamins, and gingko since registering with NARCOMS. My neurologist, MRIs, and genetic profile (as confirmed via my participation in Dr. Stephen Hauser’s Interleukin research study) agree that I have Multiple Sclerosis.
The only thing that has changed since my diagnosis is my diet.
I firmly believe that multiple sclerosis is the result of a progressive, life-long food allergy. Since 1950 people suffering from MS have found relief in an ‘inflammation-free’ diet, best expressed today as the Best Bet Diet on MS-DIET.ORG.
While the majority of the global population tolerates these foods very well, it is counter-intuitive to consider foundational nutritional elements (bread, dairy, beans) are the cause of this disease. Further, in my experience many doctors only have a basic understanding of nutrition, as it applies to the human population, as a whole. I strongly encourage NARCOMS to open a line of MS research focusing on dietary intake.
Since 1880, doctors and researchers have been unable to solve this disease. If you look at the history of widely-accepted theories about MS, you’ll see there is a tendency in the medical community to attribute MS to whatever is ‘in vogue’ in the medical community at the time. Consider the evolution of MS theories alongside these enabling technologies: Bacteria & Viruses in the 1880s, myelin inflammation w/ the use of microscopy in 1918, nerve toxins w/ electrical impulse studies in 1928, EAE in 1938, oligoclonal bands in spinal fluid in 1948, and a constantly active disease progression via MRIs in 1981.
Today, with the mapping of the human genome in 2000 and the first published individual genome in 2007, it seems the MS community is in love with the idea that MS is a genetic disease (i.e. IL2, IL7, & CD58). While true, genetics is only part of the issue. Consider:
GENETICS + NUTRITION = MS
(and many other autoimmune diseases)
I appreciate the research you perform, but all the drugs and imaging haven’t gotten us very far. With all the patents, therapies, and protocols, it feels more like we’re watching a train-wreck in slow motion.
I’m concerned that distorted economic models are driving the direction of research. Has anyone every conducted a clinical research study into diets that exclude glutens, dairy, legumes, refined sugars, eggs, and yeast?
Why would they - I suspect because there’s no money in it.
It’s that time of year again - MS Walk 2008: San Diego. Our team has raised over $3,200 this year. I’d send you to my donation page, but then this blog would no longer be anonymous. 
It’s at a great location this year: NTC Park, Liberty Station in San Diego
If you participate in the MS Walk where you live, consider coming out to San Diego
PS - I can’t promote the MS Walk without mentioning the Best Bet Diet and MS-Diet.org. For nearly 160 years, the best medical minds haven’t been able to ‘cure’ this disease. Perhaps it’s time to consider the disease is a food allergy. Perhaps it’s time to look at MS from the inside out - what you put into your body may be your problem.
I’ve been on the gluten-free, egg-free, carbonated beverage-free portions of the diet and found tremendous relief. But don’t believe me, read Roger MacDougall’s story and decide for yourself.
Here’s an interesting article, which ran in the New York Times today
about drug coverage, Tier 4 Insurance, co-payment increases, and Multiple Sclerosis.
The subject profiled in the article has MS:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/us/14drug.html
Speaking of Copaxone, I’ve been meaning to post on here a link to my Med-Cooler
UW-Madison is conducting an experimental research study on the “helminth” whipworm, a miniscule, benign parasitic worm. I find it a fascinating, plausible line of research:
On July 30, 2007 I reported Time Magazine Reports “New Genes Discovered For MS”. Yesterday I received a letter in the mail from the UCSF Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Group, which I participate in. I was shocked to learn that I am a participant in the study that made the genetic discovery of the MS susceptibility genes: IL-2R a, IL-7R a, and CD58 .
The letter reads as follows:
Dear Study Participant,
We are delighted to write and share with you some newly published scientific results that you may have already read about in the news in recent weeks.
UCSF, in collaboration with the International Multiple Sclerosis Genetic Consortia, has identified a second susceptibility gene for MS. Interleukin -7 Receptor alpha gene (IL-Rα) was identified in two major independent studies carried out by our collaborative group. Also showing significance are the IL-2R α and CD58 genes. These studies were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and Nature Genetics respectively.
While we are very excited with these important and positive steps forward in identifying the causes of MS, it may be too early to use this information to improve diagnoses (such as genetic counseling). Nonetheless, we are most eager to begin translating this new knowledge into understanding and mechanisms by which these genes play a role in someone developing MS and help design better treatments for it.
It is in this true spirit of collaboration that we want to take the opportunity to personally thank you for taking part in these very important studies. Each person’s willingness to take his or her time from very busy lives to complete forms and to donate one or more samples has directly contributed to these important findings. Collectively, we have established the most comprehensive specimen repository in the country which will continue to drive these and future studies.
Whether you are one of the first persons to participate in our studies dating back to the 1980’s or are newer to our group, we gratefully and sincerely say thank you. Together, we will continue our efforts to fight MS.
From all of us in the UCSF MS Research group,
Stephen L. Hauser, M.D.
Professor and Chairman
UCSF Department of Neurology
School of Medicine
—
Think positive, join a local MS chapter, meet people with your disease, participate in a clinial study or trial.
You can make a positive difference in your disease - the question is, How?
ADDITIONAL IMMUNOLOGY (IL-2, IL-7, Interleukin) READING:
The Immune System
USMLE Road Map: Immunology
Basic Concepts in Immunology: A Student’s Survival Guide
Psychoneuroimmunology, Two-Volume Set
Sunday July 29, 2007 Time Magazine reported two new genes are directly linked to MS.
IL2 and IL7 that code receptors for interleukin.
Read the full story: New Genes Discovered For MS
Dr. David Hafler authored one of the papers, and his bio and laboratory are oneline as the Hafller Laboratory.
It turns out I was part of the clinical study that discovered the genes. Funny enough, I didn’t realize it until I received this letter from the UCSF Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Group.
Additional Reading: Genes and Viruses in Multiple Sclerosis by O.R. Hommes
A friend of mine asked how life was with MS and if I had any insights on life. His kidney was replaced in June and I want to share my email to him with you:
“I’m doing well, thanks. About nine months ago I started focusing on my diet. There has been a radical theory out there, since the late 1950’s, called the Paleolithic Diet. As the theory goes, multiple sclerosis is caused by a hyper-allergy to wheat products. “Paleolithic Man” ate meats, nuts, leafy greens, and tubers for thousands of years. Wheat, barley, rye, and oats are “domesticated grasses” that are a recent addition to our diet. If you believe humans have evolved over the past 150,000 years, wheat has been part of our diet for less than 2% of our evolutionary process.
Adherents of the diet believe there are proteins in wheat products that are structurally simillar to neural tissue. When the body’s white cells see these proteins in the bloodstream, they attack them, and (mistakenly) attack adjacent neural tissue. It’s an absolutely fascinating, counter-intuitive approach.
Thanks to recent emphasis on coeliac disease and gluten-free diets, it’s been quite easy to change my diet. For the last six months, I’ve been on the gluten-free portion of the diet. I keep a daily quantified log of symptoms, and it’s been the best six months I’ve had in the past year-and-a-half.
As far as insights, I’ve realized the importance of doing something every day to “fight” disease. A new diet, or walking that extra block, are what we can do.
Every day is a challenge and every day is a gift - be well.”
If you are looking for other books on gluten-free diets:
Gluten-Free Diet: A Comprehensive Resource Guide
Living Gluten-Free For Dummies
Are you considering or experimenting with a gluten-free diet? Have you noticed that MS is less prevalent in South American countries? India?
I’ve cut glutens out of my diet entirely and found myself eating prodigious amounts of Mexican, Indian, and Thai food. I’ve also replaced my daily beer with a whisky or two on the weekends.
I feel great and my daily journal doesn’t lie - not a single “bad day” recorded since I started. Placebo effect, or not, it seems to be working for me*.
If you don’t live in a big city, it’s a struggle to find gluten-free food, or restaurants. Fortunately Oldways, a nonprofit food issues advocacy group, just released their Latin American Diet Pyramid.
Similar to the USDA food pyramid, this guide promotes a healthy Latino culinary tradition. The guide reads like a gluten-free handbook.
This diet was discussed with its codifier, Liz Mintz, on KCRW’s “Good Food” with Evan Kleiman.
If you are interested in other books by Oldways, be sure to check-out:
The Oldways Table: Essays & Recipes from the Culinary Think Tank
*DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed on “Curing Multiple Sclerosis” are strictly those of the site author. Hyperlinks and other information are provided for your reference and convenience only, and do not imply any endorsement of the material on these third-party web sites, or any association with their operators. No diet or dietary supplement has been definitively proven to modify the course of multiple sclerosis. All dietary changes should be discussed first with your doctor.
I’ll be at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) MS Walk 2007 with my team on Sunday, April 29, 2007 in downtown San Diego. We raised over $7,000!
The MS Walk is a great opportunity to get out with those who suffer from this disease, get some exercise, and fund valuable services and research. If you are interested in finding a cure for multiple sclerosis, start a team or donate to a walker.
If you’re at the walk this year post a comment, or provide a photo from this year’s event.
Hope to see you there!
If you’re simply working to get your strength back, I recommend low-impact to start:
Exercises for Multiple Sclerosis: A Safe and Effective Program to Fight Fatigue, Build Strength, and Improve Balance 
