QualityCounts.com
To address the growing use of ad blockers we now use affiliate links to sites like Amazon.com, streaming services, and others. Affiliate links help sites like QualityCounts.com stay open. Affiliate links cost you nothing but help me support my family. We do not allow paid reviews on this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.  Also, you can donate  to ben@qualitycounts.com via Zelle or PayPal.  Click here for the PayPal QR.  Click here for Bitcoin QR code or Bitcoin address: 39muDw6WpQV8j6EdA8eUBvT5iFDiVpVpiE
Home ReliableRXPharmacy Past Newsletters Amazon.com Contact
 Sign-up for newsletter 
 Newsletter Archive
 Newsletter via RSS Feed
 Research on Supplements
 Health Conditions
 Anti-aging Recommendations
 Insulin and Aging
 QualityCounts.com in Time
 Longevity Affiliates:
 Amazon.com
 Coinbase
 

Home > Health Conditions > Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis

Medications (that I have a separate web page on):

Popular Supplements:

Alternative News:

  • Half an Hour of Daily Sun Exposure Cuts - Medscape, 12/14/21 - "participants who spent an average of 30 minutes to 1 hour outside daily during the previous summer had a 52% lower chance of developing MS compared with those who spent less than 30 minutes outdoors daily. Additionally, those who spent 1-2 hours outdoors daily had an 81% lower risk for MS ... Particularly, low sun exposure, low ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure, and low vitamin D status are environmental risk factors for adult-onset MS, with increased risk associated with "insufficient sun exposure in childhood" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
  • Melatonin Improves Sleep in MS - Medscape, 10/15/21 - "The study was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. Participants had a Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score of 5 or more, or an Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) score higher than 14 at baseline. Other baseline assessments included patient-reported outcomes for sleep disturbances, sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, fatigue, walking ability, and mood. Half of the participants received melatonin for the first 2 weeks and then switched to placebo. The other half started with placebo and moved over to melatonin at the beginning of week 3 ... During the second and fourth weeks, participants wore an actigraph watch to measure their physical and sleep activities, and then repeated the patient-reported outcome measures at the end of weeks 2 and 4. Melatonin improved average sleep time (6.96 vs. 6.67 hours; P = .03) as measured by the actigraph watch. Sleep efficiency was also nominally improved (84.7% vs. 83.2%), though the result was not statistically significant (P = .07). Other trends toward statistical significance included improvements in ISI (–3.5 vs. –2.4; P = .07), change in PSQI component 1 (–0.03 vs. 0.0; P = .07), and change in the NeuroQoL-Fatigue score (–4.7 vs. –2.4; P = .06)" - See melatonin at Amazon.com and iHerb.
  • Effect of probiotics supplementation on disease progression, depression, general health, and anthropometric measurements in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials - Int J Clin Pract 2021 Aug 11;e14724 - "Probiotics may have a promising role in chronic autoinflammatory diseases. The current systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the effects of probiotics on disease progression, depression, general health, and anthropometric measurements in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) patients ... Our findings revealed that probiotics supplementation can improve disease progression, suppress depression, and general health in MS patients" - See See probiotic supplements at Amazon.com and iHerb.
  • Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to Early Cognitive Impairment in MS - Medscape, 3/1/21 - "those with cognitive impairment were significantly more likely to have severe hypovitaminosis D compared with those with sufficient vitamin D levels, none of whom showed cognitive impairment ... Vitamin D was already linked to cognitive function in other neurodegenerative diseases, [including] Alzheimer's disease, but more importantly, also in other autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus ... The study adds to recent research showing longer-term effects of vitamin D deficiency and cognitive impairment in MS" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
  • Fatty acid may help combat multiple sclerosis, study finds - Science Daily, 1/18/21 - "Fat tissue in patients diagnosed with MS lack normal levels of oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid found at high levels in, for instance, cooking oils, meats (beef, chicken, and pork), cheese, nuts, sunflower seeds, eggs, pasta, milk, olives, and avocados, according to the study ... This lack of oleic acids leads to a loss of the metabolic sensors that activate T cells, that mediate the immune system's response to infectious disease, the Yale team found. Without the suppressing effects of these regulatory T cells, the immune system can attack healthy central nervous system cells and cause the vision loss, pain, lack of coordination and other debilitating symptoms of MS ... When researchers introduced oleic acids into the fatty tissue of MS patients in laboratory experiments, levels of regulatory T cells increased ... obesity triggers unhealthy levels of inflammation and is a known risk factor for MS, an observation that led him to study the role of diet in MS" - Note: oleic acid is omega-9, like in olive and avocado oils.
  • Effects of Long-Term Administration of Multi-Strain Probiotic on Circulating Levels of BDNF, NGF, IL-6 and Mental Health in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial - Nutr Neurosci 2020 Jun 5;1-12 - "Patients were randomized into intervention and control groups to receive 2 multi-strain probiotic capsules or placebo, daily for six months ... From baseline to 6 months, probiotic supplementation resulted in a significant increase in BDNF and a significant reduction in the IL-6 levels (P < 0.001). Our findings revealed that probiotic supplementation compared to placebo caused a significant improvement in the general health questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) (-5.31 ± 4.62 vs. -1.81 ± 4.23; P = 0.002), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) (-4.81 ± 0.79 vs. -1.90 ± 0.96; P = 0.001), Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) (-3.81 ± 6.56 vs. 0.24 ± 5.44; P = 0.007) and Pain Rating Index (PRI) ... Overall, six months of probiotic supplementation resulted in greater improvement in mental health parameters" - See probiotic supplements at Amazon.com and iHerb.
  • Effect of omega-3 fatty acids and fish oil supplementation on multiple sclerosis: a systematic review - Nutr Neurosci. 2019 Aug 28:1-11 - "These studies showed the beneficial roles of fish oil supplementation and omega-3 fatty acids in improving the quality of life of MS patients. These roles were attributed to their beneficial effects on inflammatory markers, glutathione reductase, reducing the relapsing rate, and achieving balanced omega-6 to omega-3 ratios. Conclusion: Omega-3 and fish oils supplementations have beneficial effects on reducing the relapsing rate, inflammatory markers, and improving the quality of life for MS patients" - See omega-3 supplements at Amazon.com.
  • Taurine lends hand to repair cells damaged in multiple sclerosis - Science Daily, 12/8/17 - "taurine helps spark a process called remyelination, which is crucial to repairing the nerve cells damaged in multiple sclerosis" - See taurine at Amazon.com.
  • OTC Supplement May Reduce Brain Atrophy in SPMS - Medscape, 9/25/16 - "The small, 51-patient pilot trial showed that those randomly assigned to 1200 mg of lipoic acid daily had a significantly lower annualized rate of whole-brain atrophy at 96 weeks, as measured by MRI, than the participants who were assigned to matching placebo ... At 96 weeks, the group receiving placebo had a whole-brain atrophy rate of 0.65% per year, "which is comparable to rates in other progressive MS natural history cohorts," ... On the other hand, use of lipoic acid resulted in a significantly lower annualized atrophy rate of 0.22%, which represented a 66% reduction vs placebo" - See alpha lipoic acid products at Amazon.com and alpha lipoic acid at iHerb.
  • Inosine treatment helps recovery of motor functions after brain injury - Science Daily, 8/3/16 - "Brain injuries were created in the area controlling each monkey's favored hand. Four monkeys received inosine treatment, while four received a placebo ... While both the treated and placebo groups recovered significant function, three out of four of the treated monkeys were able to return to their pre-operative grasping methods. The placebo group developed a compensatory grasping method for retrieving food rewards unlike the original thumb-and-finger method ... Inosine has also been administered in human clinical trials for multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease and has been proven to be safe in doses up 3000 mg/day. Athletes have used inosine as a nutritional supplement for decades, and inosine supplements are widely available commercially" - See inosine at Amazon.com.
  • Diabetes Drugs Have Positive Effect in MS - Medscape, 3/22/16 - "After a mean follow-up of 26.7 months, patients receiving metformin or pioglitazone had a significant decrease in the number of new or enlarging T2 lesions on brain MRI compared with the control group and compared with findings on MRIs performed 2 years before ... This decrease was evident even after 6 months of treatment. The lowest mean number of new or enlarging T2 lesions occurred after 18 months of treatment (metformin, 0.5; pioglitazone, 0.6) and remained low throughout the study ... There was no significant difference between the two treatments ... Although not designed to detect treatment effects, the study did find that fasting glucose levels, fasting insulin levels, insulin resistance, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and systolic blood pressure all declined significantly in both treatment groups after 12 months" - See metformin at The Antiaging Store.
  • Could Vitamin D Help Fight Multiple Sclerosis? - WebMD, 12/30/15 - "His team tested two doses in 40 adults with MS. Over six months, one group took 10,400 IU of vitamin D a day -- about 17 times the amount that the U.S. government recommends for healthy adults (600 IU a day); the other group took 800 IU a day ... In the end, only the high-dose group showed changes in their immune system activity. The largest effect, Calabresi said, was a reduction in cells that produce an inflammatory protein called interleukin-17" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
  • Coenzyme Q10 as a treatment for fatigue and depression in multiple sclerosis patients: A double blind randomized clinical trial - Nutr Neurosci. 2015 Jan 20 - "Our study suggests that CoQ10 supplementation (500 mg/day) can improve fatigue and depression in patients with multiple sclerosis" - See ubiquinol products at Amazon.com.
  • Effects of cannabis on cognition in patients with MS: A psychometric and MRI study - Neurology. 2014 Apr 30 - "Patients with MS who smoke cannabis are more cognitively impaired than nonusers. Cannabis further compromises cerebral compensatory mechanisms, already faulty in MS"
  • Coenzyme Q10 supplementation ameliorates inflammatory markers in patients with multiple sclerosis: a double blind, placebo, controlled randomized clinical trial - Nutr Neurosci. 2014 Jan 10 - "Subjects in the CoQ10 group had significantly lower IL-6 levels (P = 0.037), compared to the placebo group. CoQ10 supplementation also resulted in decreased serum levels of MMP-9 as compared to the placebo group (P = 0.011). However, CoQ10 supplementation did not alter the IL-4 and TGF-β levels (P = 0.16 and P = 0.81, respectively). Discussion CoQ10 supplementation at a dosage of 500 mg appears to decrease the inflammatory markers (TNF-α, IL-6, and MMP-9) in patients with MS" - See ubiquinol products at Amazon.com.
  • Vitamin D May Slow Multiple Sclerosis, Study Suggests - WebMD, 1/20/14 - "For the study, researchers measured vitamin D levels in 465 patients with signs of MS who took part in a trial designed to study interferon beta-1b treatment. For the next five years, patients underwent MRI scans so the researchers could track brain lesions associated with the disease ... During the first year of follow-up, increases of 50 nmol/L of vitamin D were associated with a 57 percent lower risk of developing new brain lesions ... In addition, patients had a 57 percent lower risk of relapse ... They also had a 25 percent lower yearly increase in T2 lesion size (these hallmarks of MS appear as bright spots on an MRI) and a 0.41 percent lower yearly loss in brain size over the course of the study" - [Science Daily] - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
  • Antioxidant drug knocks down multiple sclerosis-like disease in mice - Science Daily, 12/26/13 - "The antioxidant -- called MitoQ -- has shown some promise in fighting neurodegenerative diseases. But this is the first time it has been shown to significantly reverse an MS-like disease in an animal ... the researchers induced mice to contract a disease called experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, or EAE, which is very similar to MS in humans ... After 14 days, the EAE mice that had been treated with the MitoQ exhibited reduced inflammatory markers and increased neuronal activity in the spinal cord -- an affected brain region in MS -- that showed their EAE symptoms were being improved by the treatment. The mice also showed reduced loss of axons, or nerve fibers and reduced neurological disabilities associated with the EAE. The mice that had been pre-treated with the MitoQ showed the least problems. The mice that had been treated with MitoQ after EAE also showed many fewer problems than mice who were just induced to get the EAE and then given no treatment"
  • Vitamin D as a protective factor in multiple sclerosis - Neurology. 2012 Nov 20;79(21):2140-5 - "2 population-based biobanks with 291,500 samples from 164,000 persons collected since 1975 in the northern half of Sweden were used ... This study supports the presence of an association between high 25(OH)D levels during the years preceding disease onset and a decreased risk of MS. In the very limited material with samples drawn in early pregnancy, where month-of-birth effects were controlled for, we found no association between gestational 25(OH)D levels and MS risk in the offspring. Decreasing 25(OH)D levels in the population may contribute to explain the increasing MS incidence that is suggested from epidemiologic studies" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
  • High Vitamin D levels in pregnancy may protect mother more than baby against multiple sclerosis - Science Daily, 11/19/12 - "scientists reviewed information about 291,500 blood samples from 164,000 people collected since 1975 in the northern half of Sweden ... women who had high levels of vitamin D in their blood had a 61 percent lower risk of developing MS, compared to those who had low levels of vitamin D in their blood ... No association was found between the mother's vitamin D level and whether her child would later develop MS ... our study suggests the protective effect may start in later pregnancy and beyond" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
  • Month of birth effect: Give pregnant women vitamin D supplements to ward off multiple sclerosis, say researchers - Science Daily, 11/14/12 - "The risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) is highest in the month of April, and lowest in October ... there is now a strong case for vitamin D supplementation of pregnant women in countries where ultraviolet light levels are low between October and March ... The analysis indicated a significant excess risk of 5% among those born in April compared with what would be expected. Similarly, the risk of MS was 5 to 7% lower among those born between October and November, the data indicated" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
  • Low vitamin D levels linked to more severe multiple sclerosis symptoms - Science Daily, 10/2/12 - "For the study, Mowry and her colleagues used data from a five-year study of 469 people with MS. Each year, beginning in 2004, researchers drew blood from, and performed MRIs on, the brains of study participants, looking for both new lesions and active spots of disease, which lit up when a contrast dye was used. The investigators found that each 10-nanograms-per-milliliter increase in vitamin D levels was associated with a 15 percent lower risk of new lesions and a 32 percent lower risk of spots of active disease, which require treatment with medication to reduce likelihood of permanent nerve damage. Higher vitamin D levels were also associated with lower subsequent disability" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
  • High-dose vitamin D may not be better than low-dose vitamin D in treating multiple sclerosis - Science Daily, 10/24/11
  • Sun exposure, vitamin D may lower risk of multiple sclerosis - Science Daily, 2/7/11
  • Blueberries and other purple fruits to ward off Alzheimer's, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's - Science Daily, 12/7/10 - "Eating purple fruits such as blueberries and drinking green tea can help ward off diseases including Alzheimer's, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's ... the majority of debilitating illnesses are in part caused by poorly-bound iron which causes the production of dangerous toxins that can react with the components of living systems ... These toxins, called hydroxyl radicals, cause degenerative diseases of many kinds in different parts of the body ... In order to protect the body from these dangerous varieties of poorly-bound iron, it is vital to take on nutrients, known as iron chelators, which can bind the iron tightly" - See blueberry extract at Amazon.com and green tea extract at Amazon.com.
  • Of bugs and brains: Gut bacteria affect multiple sclerosis - Science Daily, 7/20/10 - "This study shows for the first time that specific intestinal bacteria have a significant role in affecting the nervous system during MS -- and they do so from the gut, an anatomical location very, very far from the brain ... Perhaps treatments for diseases such as multiple sclerosis may someday include probiotic bacteria that can restore normal immune function in the gut… and the brain"
  • Vitamin D Exposure in Childhood Linked to Age at Onset of MS - Medscape, 6/10/10 - "For those living in low– to medium–solar radiation areas, the researchers found a significant association between earlier age at onset of symptoms and sun exposure in the fall/winter season between the ages of 6 and 15 years (2.3 years average earlier onset; P = .01). Intake of cod liver oil during childhood produced a 3-year delay in onset"
  • Low vitamin D levels are related to MS brain atrophy, cognitive function, studies show - Science Daily, 4/29/10 - "only seven percent of persons with secondary-progressive MS showed sufficient vitamin D, compared to 18.3 percent of patients with the less severe relapsing-remitting type ... Higher levels of vitamin D3 and vitamin D3 metabolism byproducts (analyzed as a ratio) also were associated with better scores on disability tests, results showed, and with less brain atrophy and fewer lesions on MRI scans"
  • First evidence that chitosan could repair spinal damage - Science Daily, 4/16/10 - "Cho was amazed to see that the spinal cord was completely dark. None of the dye had entered the nerve cells. Chitosan had repaired the damaged cell membranes ... Next Cho tested whether a dose of chitosan could prevent large molecules from leaking from damaged spinal cord cells. Testing for the presence of the colossal enzyme lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), Borgens admits he was amazed to see that levels of LDH leakage from chitosan treated spinal cord were lower than from undamaged spinal cords. Not only had the sugar repaired membranes at the compression site but also at other sites where the cell membranes were broken due to handling. And when the duo tested for the presence of harmful reactive oxygen species (ROS), released when ATP generating mitochondria are damaged, they found that ROS levels also fell after applying chitosan to the damaged tissue: chitosan probably repairs mitochondrial membranes as well as the nerve cell membranes"
  • Exercise helps protect brain of multiple sclerosis patients, study suggests - Science Daily, 2/18/10
  • Vitamin D for Mom May Lower Baby’s MS Risk - WebMD, 2/9/10 - "We also found the risk of MS among daughters whose mothers were in the top 20% of vitamin D intake during pregnancy was 45% lower than daughters whose mothers were in the bottom 20% for vitamin D intake during pregnancy" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
  • Low vitamin D levels associated with greater risk of relapse in childhood-onset multiple sclerosis - Science Daily, 1/21/10
  • The Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis with Inosine - J Altern Complement Med. 2009 May 8 - "These data suggest that the use of inosine to raise serum UA levels may have benefits for at least some MS patients" - See inosine products at iHerb.
  • High Doses of Vitamin D Cut MS Relapses - WebMD, 4/28/09
  • Vitamin D may be critical to reduce multiple sclerosis risk - Nutra USA, 2/12/09
  • Genetic Study Shows Direct Link Between Vitamin D And MS Susceptibility 'Gene' - Science Daily, 2/5/09 - "The research suggests that vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy and the early years may increase the risk of the offspring developing MS later in life"
  • Vitamin D Linked to Genetic and Environmental Risk for MS - Medscape, 9/26/08 - "Everyone who has examined this from the National Academy of Sciences to the dietary committee of the European Union to a variety of professional organizations all agree pretty much that the amount of vitamin D that people are getting is too low" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
  • Sunshine 'protective' against MS - BBC News, 7/28/07 - "An earlier study found women who took vitamin D supplements were 40% less likely to develop MS ... Depending on the activity, the twin who spent more hours outdoors had up to a 57% reduced risk of developing MS"
  • Vitamin D May Protect Against MS - WebMD, 12/19/06 - "Compared with whites with the lowest levels, those with the highest were found to have a 62% lower risk for developing the disease ... Most multivitamins contain 400 IU of vitamin D, which has been thought to be a sufficient daily dosage. But Finn argues that most people need between 800 and 1,000 IU a day, especially in the winter"
  • Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Levels and Risk of Multiple Sclerosis - JAMA. 2006 Dec 20;296(23):2832-8 - "high circulating levels of vitamin D are associated with a lower risk of multiple sclerosis"
  • Can Alpha-Lipoic Acid Improve Multiple Sclerosis? - Dr. Murray's Natural Living, 10/18/06
  • Vitamin B3 May Help MS - WebMD, 9/19/06
  • The Role of Vitamin D in Multiple Sclerosis - Ann Pharmacother. 2006 May 9
  • New Data on Natalizumab Demonstrate Significant Improvement in Cognitive Function in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis - Doctor's Guide, 9/28/06
  • Ginkgo May Ease Some Attention Problems in MS - WebMD, 5/6/05 - "they were assigned to take a placebo or ginkgo biloba (120 milligrams twice daily) for three months ... The ginkgo group shaved four seconds off their time on the Stroop test, a 13% decrease compared with their performance prior to starting ginkgo. The placebo group's time remained unchanged"
  • OHSU Study Finds Ginkgo Beneficial For MS Symptoms - Science Daily, 4/28/05
  • Ginkgo biloba may improve memory in MS sufferers - Nutra USA, 4/28/05
  • Exercise Therapy Builds Strength, Mobility In MS Patients - Science Daily, 3/12/05
  • Why we should offer routine vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy and childhood to prevent multiple sclerosis - Med Hypotheses. 2005;64(3):608-18 - "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"
  • A Dangerous Treatment for MS? - Dr. Weil, 11/4/04
  • Yoga Fights Fatigue in People With MS - WebMD, 6/11/04
  • Yoga Reduces Fatigue In Multiple Sclerosis Patients, OHSU Study Finds - Science Daily, 6/10/04
  • Sunshine May Lower Multiple Sclerosis Risk - WebMD, 1/14/04
  • Vitamin D May Prevent MS - WebMD, 1/12/04 - "women who get doses typically found in daily multivitamin supplements -- of at least 400 international units -- are 40% less likely to develop multiple sclerosis compared with those not taking over-the-counter supplements"
  • Try Turmeric for MS? - Dr. Weil, 8/12/03
  • High Levels of Sun Exposure Prior to Age 15 Associated with Reduced Risk of Multiple Sclerosis - Doctor's Guide, 8/8/03
  • Sun Exposure May Reduce Multiple Sclerosis Risk - WebMD, 8/6/03 - "Researchers say the findings suggest there may be a link between multiple sclerosis and insufficient ultraviolet radiation or vitamin D -- or both"
  • Multiple Sclerosis: Exercise, Yoga Help - WebMD, 4/4/03
  • Echinacea: A Bad Bet for MS? - Dr. Weil, 3/13/03
  • An Indian Spice for Alzheimer’s? - Dr. Weil, 6/12/02 - "Curcumin blocked the accumulation of beta-amaloid plaque and also appeared to reduce inflammation related to Alzheimer’s disease in neurologic tissue. The rats fed curcumin also performed better on memory tests than rats on normal diets ... Researchers at the University of Illinois have also found that it helps prevent plaque formation. And preliminary studies at Vanderbilt University suggest that curcumin may block the progression of multiple sclerosis ... only low dose curcumin reduced plaque in the Alzheimer’s disease studies ... Turmeric appears to have significant anti-inflammatory and cancer-protective effects as well"
  • Ginkgo May Boost Mental Function in MS - WebMD, 4/18/02 - "Millions of people take the herbal supplement ginkgo biloba in the belief that it boosts brain power, and several studies suggest it improves mental function in some patients with Alzheimer's disease. New research now shows that it may do the same thing for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS)."

Other News: