:: November 2009

Welcome to our Monthly Online Newsletter!

View all Treatment articles in our Treatment Report . The most recent articles are listed on top (not in alphabetical order). Click on the Topic on our home page and then the subtopic - Treatment Report. Stay updated on drugs and their side effects, and various other treatments, including exercise, nutrition, and supplements.

Smoking Accelerates Progression of Multiple Sclerosis “Smoking cigarettes not only increases the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), it also might contribute to more rapid disease progression, new research suggests. However, quitting smoking might at least partly reverse the adverse effects that this addictive habit has on MS.”

EFNS guidelines on the use of neuroimaging in the management of multiple sclerosis (2006)

NGC - Multiple sclerosis. National clinical guideline for diagnosis and management in primary and secondary care. (2004)

NGC - The utility of MRI in suspected MS: report of the Therapeutics and Technology Assessment Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology and the Practice Committee of the Child Neurology Society. (2003)

Featured site

NIH - Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (Mayo)

NIH - Medical Encyclopedia Multiple Sclerosis

NIH - Multiple Sclerosis Tutorial

NIH - NINDS Multiple Sclerosis

NIH - NINDS Multiple Sclerosis Information Page

Vitamins (Vitamin D)

Sunlight - Tanning Beds

Vitamins (Vitamin D)

25-Hydroxyvitamin D levels in serum at the onset of multiple sclerosis. (Mult Scler. 2005) "Past sun exposure and vitamin D supplementation have been associated with a reduction in the risk of MS. Ä We conclude that the vitamin D stores in most MS patients are adequate for their normal bone metabolism. However, lower vitamin D levels during MS relapses than in remission suggest that vitamin D could be involved in the regulation of the clinical disease activity of MS."

Why we should offer routine vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy and childhood to prevent multiple sclerosis. (Med Hypotheses. 2005) " In areas of high MS prevalence, dietary supplementation of vitamin D in early life may reduce the incidence of MS. In addition, like folic acid, vitamin D supplementation should also be routinely recommended in pregnancy. Prevention of MS by modifying an important environmental factor (sunlight exposure and vitamin D level) offers a practical and cost-effective way to reduce the burden of the disease in the future generations."

Sunlight - Tanning Beds

A potential role for UVR and Vitamin D in the induction of Multiple Sclerosis, Type 1 Diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis. (Photochem Photobiol. 2005) "Here, we review the evidence indicating a possible beneficial role for UVR on three Th1-mediated autoimmune diseases: multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis in relation to recent developments in photoimmunology."