This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

A philosophical note on concept reengineering


Take this article as an example. It is fairly recent, it is not without its merits, it considers a variety of aspects, environmental factors, mixes things up with genetic factors, makes a number of suggestions on the way etc. I am sure the authors have tried to do a good job…

quote from: http://www.nature.com/nrneurol/journal/ ... 010.1.html

Environmental factors and their timing in adult-onset multiple sclerosis
Adam E. Handel, Gavin Giovannoni, George C. Ebers & Sreeram V. Ramagopalan

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common, complex neurological disease. Epidemiological data implicate both genetic and environmental factors in the etiology of MS, with various factors interacting with one another. Environmental exposures might occur long before the disease becomes clinically evident, as suggested by the wide range in onset age. In this Review, we examine the key time periods during which the environment might contribute to MS susceptibility, as well as the potential environmental factors involved. Understanding the nature of environmental influences in MS is highly relevant to the development of public health measures that are aimed at preventing this debilitating disease.

unquote


If you read the article against the background of the knowledge that was developed on this thread and you start to see things with different eyes and in a different light, inevitably you will start to associate or explain many of the issues at stake in different perhaps unusual ways. But fact is that so many of these issues of the MS puzzle then fit together so neatly that one really starts to wonder about the validity of the old concept and whether the concept perhaps needs some reengineering. To this end, it may be useful to reflect a bit more on this in a philosophical manner.

There is no such thing as a neutral apprehension of reality. Philosophy tells us that we grasp the world around us through concepts. Even when we think that we are representing our environment in a specular or objective way, our perception is necessarily mediated by concepts, as if they were the keyholes through which we inevitably see and perceive reality. Concepts show their efficacy by providing us with an understanding of our surrounding realities and a means by which we are able to grasp those realities. Knowledge aggregates around given concepts. And these concepts become a means to an end (whatever good this end pretends to be - sometimes not even far from totalitarianism). As humans, we all experience the internal dialogue between good and bad and in building our support structures we make this polarized figure external to build a collective identity where the sphere is hardened by the illusion that the most efficient way to make the field of expertise good is to make each of its members good.

[This is precisely what happened with the field of neurology. Its members created and then consolidated their own world, looking into the wrong direction and betting on the wrong concept. The system grew insular and stagnant. Everybody was happy, the pharmaceutical industry as they could go on selling their CRAB medications (CRAB stands for Copaxone, Rebif, Avonex and Betaferon, the main immuno suppressive therapies for MS, expensive but not very effective to say the least...), the academics and researchers as they could go on playing and do their own little things each in their own little garden (not sharing too much because that could be damaging re: patents etc), doctors followed the protocols (got their patients for a lifetime, no risk for themselves or their hospital), and government officials must have been quite happy as the system was stable and predictable, year after year... So everybody was happy, except the patients. They were left out in the cold, they had no voice ... And the system sustained itself, for decades... That is until the Internet came along...]

But sources of inspiration and references are multiple and diverse. A new very rich environment was brought about by the Internet. The social fora help to make new connections, the search machines provide unprecedented means to search, order and catalogue information and acquire new knowledge. In philosophical terms, the space between us collapses. A global college emerges. New collective cognitions develop beyond the traditional boundaries of fields. In this global college, there is a new reality - a new space, more like a local playground for all - emerging.

The exercise focusses on what matters for the new inhabitants, inspired doctors, entrepreneurs and enlightened masses, often outside traditional boundaries or believes. New concepts are designed, adapted or re-adapted, as we have seen happen here. The focus is on the means and preconditions to reinvigorate the sense of plurality. This is essential for paradigm shifts to happen and provides a new basis for knowledge accumulation and for the production of a new sense of meaning.

We fear and reject what we fail to understand and semanticise. The dominance of negative projections about the future is often the signature of the inadequacy of our current conceptual toolbox. We must reflect meaningfully on what happens to us, and thereby help us envision the future in positive terms. In that sense, this thread carries an important philosophical message: the overall purpose of this concept reengineering exercise was to acknowledge such inadequacy and explore alternative conceptualisations that enable us to re-envisage our future with greater confidence.

"What I propose in the following is a
reconsideration of the human condition
from the vantage point of our newest
experiences and most recent fears. This,
obviously, is a matter of thought, and
thoughtlessness – the heedless
recklessness or hopeless confusion or
complacent repetition of 'truths' which
have become trivial and empty –seems to
me among the outstanding characteristics
of our time. What I propose, therefore, is
very simple: it is nothing more than to
think what we are doing". Hannah
Arendt, Prologue of "The Human
Condition", 1958.

every now and then, it may be useful to take a distance and philosophize a bit on what we are doing.. but philosophy itself won't solve our problem.. science and a reengineered concept will.

Altered Immunity & The Leaky Gut Syndrome

quote from http://www.mold-survivor.com/leaky_gut_syndrome.html

The leaky gut syndrome is almost always associated with autoimmune disease .... An autoimmune disease is defined as one in which the immune system makes antibodies against its own tissues. [well we know they come from the gut...] Diseases in this category include lupus, alopecia, rheumatoid arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, Sjogren's Syndrome, vitiligo, thyroiditis, vasculitis, Crohn's Disease, ulcerative colitis, urticaria;hives, diabetes and Raynaud's disease.
unquote

Well, we know that MS in the second progressive stage is caused by a 'leaky' gut in combination with a compromised BBB, see for instance the raw sketch of MS in the first posting on pg 1. It then becomes decisive for MS patients in this progressive stage to try to reverse and get a healing of the lining of the gastrointestinal tract. Any other treatment is just symptom suppression. Now there are several possibilities here, that is through:

1. diet and the use of natural antibiotics

quote from the article under the above link: How to reverse Leaky Gut syndrome
Band-aid treatment with corticosteroids, prescription antibiotics and immunosuppressive drugs may be temporarily life saving for acute episode of pain, bleeding or severe inflammation as occurs in lupus or colitis. In the long run, however, none of these treatments do anything to heal the leaky gut problem. To reverse the leaky gut syndrome the diet must be completely changed to one which is as hypoallergenic as possible. Sugar, white flour products, all gluten containing grains (especially wheat, barley, oats and rye), milk and dairy products, high fat foods, caffeine products, alcohol and hidden food allergies determined by testing must all be eliminated for long periods of time (several years in the more severe cases).

Treatment might also include the use of natural antibiotics: (echinacea, colloidal silver, garlic), antiparasitics:(cloves, wormwood, black walnut) and antifungal (taheebo, caplytic acid, grapefruit seed extract) depending on the type of infection which shows up on objective tests. It is rare that victims require prescription drugs for these infections and they should be discouraged. The drugs are usually expensive, have unpleasant side effects and are best reserved for life threatening conditions. Leaky gut syndrome patients can help themselves by chewing their food more thoroughly, following the basic rules of food combining, eating frequent small meals rather than three large ones and taking more time with their meals.

Gastrointestinal function can be improved with a juice fast or a hypoallergenic diet and supplements like lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidus as well as natural (not derived from the aspergillus fermentation process, although most is, use caution!) FOS (fructooligosaccharides) derived from Jerusalem artichoke, chicory, the dahlia plant or burdock root. unquote

The Swank diet, the Terry Walsh advice etc all fall under this category.

2. by transplantation of the gut flora

http://www.lecomprime.com/wp-content/up ... -20111.pdf

quote from the article … transplantation of the microbiota in humans has also been occasionally performed for selected indications in the clinic with very promising results for many decades. It is time to realize the hopes expressed by Eiseman et al. over half a century ago…


http://www.2ndchance.info/inflambowel-Borody2012.pdf
Fecal microbiota transplantation and emerging applications
Thomas J. Borody and Alexander Khoruts

quote from the article:
Abstract | Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has been utilized sporadically for over 50 years. In the past
few years, Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) epidemics in the USA and Europe have resulted in the increased
use of FMT, given its high efficacy in eradicating CDI and associated symptoms. As more patients request
treatment and more clinics incorporate FMT into their treatment repertoire, reports of applications outside of
CDI are emerging, paving the way for the use of FMT in several idiopathic conditions. Interest in this therapy
has largely been driven by new research into the gut microbiota, which is now beginning to be appreciated as a
microbial human organ with important roles in immunity and energy metabolism. This new paradigm raises the
possibility that many diseases result, at least partially, from microbiota-related dysfunction. This understanding
invites the investigation of FMT for several disorders, including IBD, IBS, the metabolic syndrome,
neurodevelopmental disorders, autoimmune diseases and allergic diseases, among others. The field of
microbiota-related disorders is currently in its infancy; it certainly is an exciting time in the burgeoning science
of FMT and we expect to see new and previously unexpected applications in the near future. Well-designed and
well-executed randomized trials are now needed to further define these microbiota-related conditions.

...These include the virtually complete and prolonged (>15 years) normalization of previously severe multiple sclerosis symptoms in three patients ...

unquote

whow, to all, take your time and think this over carefully !!
it all fits together

Now that we know how it all fits together (see for instance the sketch for a new concept on pg 1 first posting general-discussion-f1/topic15188.html ), for the sake of millions of MS patients, the course that has been set by the findings of Dr. Zamboni and Dr. Borody must have a successful pursuit and can not suffer shipwreck. We must now make every effort to bring MS to an end. I think that prospect is real..

But change to the system won't come easy; the weight of the status-quo is immense. The pharmaceutical sector has no financial motivations; the clinical sector may get luke warm at best as this risks to throw their own world in disarray; and national public health authorities may find themselves in a juxtaposition having an interest both in protecting their industry (commercial contract) and to act for health as a public good and secure our right to health (social contract). The risk is that the whole system is getting paralysed over this, as if they are all nailed to the floor.

Patients are left out in the cold and things may get unnecessarily delayed or may even stagnate. That is unacceptable. For us as patients, MS is a silent killer that takes a bit more of our life every day again, and therefore speed is of the essence. The interests of the patients should prevail at all times.

The systemic problem is one of cultural preparation, the challenge is to graduate the system, to close the gap between the new insights on the one side and the experiences and protocols of medical specialists on the other side. There may be issues here that transcend the medical sector where outside help could accelerate the process. I think for instance about re-assessing the balance between using time-consuming safety standards (cautious practices like Randomised Control Trials for almost everything, primum non nocere) and a new and honest appreciation of risks of gut flora transplants and the like.

In the middle of this conundrum of intellectual, commercial, relational and other pressures, I believe that a mediation role by politics should be welcomed by many stakeholders, to ensure the patients' goals figure prominently on the agenda, to ensure proportionality of the follow-on actions (with a re-assessment of the balance between risk and speed) but also to help avoid that energies in the medical world are spent on abstruse debates of identity and status against true multi-disciplinary cooperation.

I wish to repeat here the words of Nigel Crisp, the former CEO of the UK NHS, who said in his book 'Turning the World Upside Down' that if governments fail to deal adequately with health crises in the future we will be running up to a crisis as big as in the banking sector. Staying out of this debate is not an option any longer, they must engage now..

Do be aware that Vitamin D3 is a natural antibiotic as is MELATONIN. We must never forget that human DNA is set to produce Vitamin D3 from the entire skin surface from dawn to dusk given UVB exposure and from the pineal gland, Melatonin, from dusk to dawn. While maximising the natural production is important we have to take account of modern lifestyles and the fact that as we age our ability to make these natural antibiotics declines, by age 75 we are down to 25% BUT it is still worth the effect to make the best of what is still naturally available and make up the difference with effective strength D3 and Time Release Melatonin.
Also Curcumin acts as a natural antibiotic as does GREEN TEA.

Because I have to self-catheterize to pee I was always getting UTI's. I'd exhausted the long term low dose, and developed antibiotic resistant strains of E coli and was down to the last possible available option which would have required hospitalization when I investigate alternative ways of dealing with the crisis and worked out a long term strategy.
Since then I use all the above idea TOGETHER all the time.

I think the reference above to caplytic acid is a typo and it should be caprylic acid which is found in COCONUT OIL which I use as my main cooking oil. It's another natural antibiotic and anti fungal agent that helps keep your gut flora friendly and denies pathogenic bacteria to flourish.
It pays to use Natural Live Yoghurt. I make my own using RAW MILK which can still be obtained in the UK if you ask
Raw milk is NOT pasteurized or homogenized so contains the full natural amount of LACTOFERRIN that plays a major role in improving immune function.

I use GREEN TEA as my main beverage.
I keep my 25(OH)D around 60ng/ml 150nmol/l
I take a curcumin daily and pay attention to improving melatonin secretion and sleep hygiene and use a time release melatonin supplement before bed.

It's solved the problem with the UTI and I don't often get colds/flu either.

The mantel is shifting slowly from the neurological towards the vascular/cellular nutrition/diabetes dimension…

Take for instance this publication http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ... 7212000845
The article considers 4 different hypotheses as regards the etiology of MS, as follows:

1. autoimmune
2. infectious
3. UV-light
4. vascular

Besides the autoimmune hypothesis, 3 other etiologies are mentioned including the most recent theory of vascular etiology of MS. That is progress. But it is still incomplete in so far as the vascular dimension refers exclusively to CCSVI. What is the case?

As important or perhaps even more important than CCSVI is the metabolic syndrome, the increased insulin resistance and reduced insulin sensitivity. The cause of the developing insulin resistance is the gut microbiota. The gut microbiota is believed to be a major factor in human glucose. This presentation explains and elaborates – I invite all of you to have a closer look at it:

http://www.cvgk.nl/legacy/bestanden/cvc ... rp-def.pdf

Shaping / manipulating gut microbiota with an effect on insulin resistance is possible by diet, antibiotics (broad spectrum, minocycline) and fecal transplantation. A significant reduction in peripheral insulin resistance is seen after gram positive elimination.

Although the presentation focuses on gut flora transplantation for diabetes, we know the therapy works well for MS too (Borody). Probably, the enhanced insulin sensitivity improves cellular nutrition and can reverse MS suggesting a direct link between MS and the diabetes dimension (which, incidently, has been the idea behind this thread right from the outset).

This recent article in a German magazine is on this same matter http://www.zeit.de/2012/17/M-Darm/seite-1
titled From the belly to the head, the intestinal flora is critical not only for digestion. Emeran Mayer of the University of California at Los Angeles explores the connections between the brain and gastrointestinal system ... The article talks about the biggest medical breakthrough of the last 200 years..

Against this background and the other learnings on this thread, I would reverse the order of the 4 hypotheses as regards the etiology of MS as follows:

1. vascular, that is the gut microbiota causing insulin resistance / diabetes and of course the CCSVI
2. UV-light, that equals Vitamin D important both for cellular growth (number of glucose gates) and for producing natural antibiotics for a healthy gut flora, can therefore be related to point 1 diabetes
3. infectious, that is the EBV and the Chlamidia pneumonia bacteria causing nuclear receptor blockage or dysfunction and problems with nutrition/transcription, and can therefore also be related to point 1 diabetes

4. autoimmune, is a secondary issue, and is re-active to poor cellular conditions, weakened cells possibly infected by foreign species.

If you absorb all information on this thread, I am convinced that this latter scenario 1-4 is at least as plausible as the former. This latter scenario is broadly speaking equivalent to the raw sketch of the new concept for MS as can be found in the very first posting of this thread.

The medical sector should urgently look outward to the "blue ocean" of knowledge all around us, in a neutral and objective manner. The matter needs debate with all involved stakeholders, including discussion at the highest levels of governments. When this game is over, the face of the world will be different altogether…

http://www.sirweb.org/news/newsPDF/SIR_ ... _51012.pdf

quote: SIR supports and agrees with the FDA’s recommendations to encourage research on CCSVI and the current knowledge regarding the safety and effectiveness of treatment procedures. SIR also agrees that clinical research of CCSVI should be performed through well-designed clinical trials, which should require approval through the FDA investigational device exemption (IDE) program.
…
SIR is pleased that public advocacy groups have pushed the medical community forward to meet this challenge and is committed to assuming a national leadership role in launching needed efforts.
unquote

THANK YOU SIR

What's happening here is important: SIR distinguishes between IND (Investigational New Drug with risk profile X) and IDE (Device Exemption for new treatment devices with different risk profile Y). They apparently believe that approval for CCSVI treatment (re: Zamboni) and possibly later on also for intestinal flora transplantation (re: Borody) may go along different path than the double blinded randomized controlled trials for new drugs that are time-consuming, prone to deterrence, build-in delays, incidently all the things that Zamboni et al are seen to be struggling with all the time...

I have said it here before, SIR is a mighty ally....

I am not a specialist in US law and regulations and would welcome any comments or informed views you might have...

It is all about insulin sensitivity, insulin sensitivity is the key.

If the insulin sensitivity is enhanced, the astrocytes and oligodendrocytes will be better nourished. And the nerves will be better maintained. I think that it is the mechanism that controls the nutrition and transcription processes in the endothelium/vessel wall that is disrupted, a mechanims that is related to nuclear receptor functioning (vit D receptors and many other receptors e.g. RXR). As such I do not believe that there is something intrinsically wrong with our astrocytes and oligodendrocytes (no genetic defect). Or that there would be anything fundamentally wrong with our immune system.

But enhancing the sensitivity of our cells to insulin is a process that is not done over night; the strengthening of the astrocytes and oligodendrocytes themselves and their functioning (and the competition between them) takes time... From the characteristics drawn up by Dr. Roy Swank on how people responded to his low-fat diet, one may derive the typical times for recovery go from many months to well over a year or perhaps two years... Conversely, we may feel discouraged in the short term by the immediate response to taking less glucose rich food namely a further weakening...

I can see a number of ways to enhance our insulin sensitivity that all have proven in some way their efficacy in MS:

= significantly reducing most sugars and grains, even whole wheat grains, until you lower your level. A normal fasting blood insulin level is below 5, but ideally you'll want to be below 3. Once you've normalized your insulin level you can reintroduce grains into your diet at a lower level to optimize your health.

This recent UCLA study is on the same subject
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/ ... 051512.php
While earlier research has revealed how fructose harms the body through its role in diabetes, obesity and fatty liver, this study is the first to uncover how the sweetener influences the brain.
"Insulin is important in the body for controlling blood sugar, but it may play a different role in the brain, where insulin appears to disturb memory and learning," he said. "Our study shows that a high-fructose diet harms the brain as well as the body. This is something new."

http://newsfeedresearcher.com/data/arti ... study.html
shows how a diet steadily high in fructose slows the brain, hampering memory and learning (old wisdom of neurologists to refrain from sugar) -- and how omega-3 fatty acids can counteract the disruption (Swank, Jelinek).
Dr. Gomez-Pinilla indicated that the study, which was published in the Journal of Physiology, broke new ground in establishing that high-fructose consumption can undermine brain function as well as the body. These findings expand the concept of metabolic syndrome affecting the brain and provide the mechanistic evidence of how dietary habits can interact to regulate brain functions, which can further alter lifelong susceptibility to the metabolic disorders.

= exercise is of enormous benefit in improving the sensitivity of your insulin receptors, and help normalize your insulin level far more quickly;

= so is loosing weight which is according to the diabetologist I consulted the most effective way to reduce insulin resistance [by the way, I do not have diabetes yet but I am sure I am running up to it; strictly speaking if I apply the criteria I do have the metabolic syndrome e.g the fasting serum insulin level was a bit over 5 and some other criteria were also satisfied but then the protocols here tell everything is fine... ideally you'll want to be below 3].

= apart from a diet with too much glucose-producing food, there may be other reasons the pancreas pumps out lots of insulin (a "sick" pancreas)

bacteria (Cpn) may have an effect on the insulin production
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15239615

vascular cross compression
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2940091/
Insulin resistance (hyperinsulinemia) is said to be the signal event and causal in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Pulsatile arterial compression of the right anterolateral medulla oblongata is associated with autonomic dysfunction, including “driving” the pancreas, which increases insulin resistance causing type 2 diabetes mellitus. In this prospective study, we hypothesize that decompressing the right cranial nerve X and medulla will result in better glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Arterial compression of the right anterolateral medulla appears to be a factor in the etiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Microvascular decompression may be an effective treatment for non-obese type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.
It is now generally accepted in the international neurosurgical community that vascular cross-compression causes cranial nerve hyperactive syndromes. These include, among others, trigeminal neuralgia, hemifacial spasm, vertigo and disequilibrium, Miniere‘s disease, glossopharyngeal neuralgia and spasmodic torticollis.

= by shaping / manipulating gut microbiota with an effect on insulin resistance by diet (see above), antibiotics (broad spectrum, minocycline), possibly vit D supplementation and fecal transplantation. A significant reduction in peripheral insulin resistance is seen after gram positive elimination.

http://www.cardiovasculairegeneeskunde. ... ensitivity

I am a descendant from large catholic families in the south of the Netherlands, my families were farmers both from my father's and from my mother's side. There are literally well over a hundred descendants in 4 generations. But MS is not in the family, not at all; I did not even know what MS is until I was diagnosed at the age of 47, now 8 years ago.

From my mother's side, the family is generally healthy. My mother and her 3 sisters and 2 brothers recently celebrated the "500 years" milestone. My farther has diabetes type 2, so had his mother and the sister of his mother. But he keeps his diabetes well under control already for 25 years with a few pills (Metformin and Glimperid) and of course low sugar and "not too much fat" (in his own words, he does not know anything about all the types of fatty acids and the like..). Next month, he will get 85 years old and apart from his diabetes he is perfectly healthy and mobile (walks easily over 10 km's and without a stick).

But this has been different. When he was diagnosed with diabetes type 2 (now about 25 years ago) he had signs of weakness, also difficulties walking the stairs etc. He also limped a bit with his right leg (also my weakest leg) and he had problems with his right knee. But these symptoms seem to have vanished over time, unnoticed, as he was living to his diabetes diet. Two years ago, after a period of severe stress, he had 3 attacks of what looked like Meniere's disease, probably a stenose behind the left ear (in the left IJV) that he passed on to me...

This experience has been the basis for my thinking all the way through, i.e. that my MS is in some way related to his diabetes. And extending the parallel, I could add as yet another option to enhance insulin sensitivity:

= taking Metformin (most commonly used diabetes drug worldwide) to smoothen the insulin response and press the insulin peaks down. What about taking Glimperid, I do not know… I need to take further advice there…

I think the raw sketch of concept of MS as in the very first posting of this thread still stands...

My father and I, both in the late-onset peak. He died with diabetes. I will die with "MS". We both had neuropathy. I think one thing that suffers damage in later ages and is vulnerable to genetic effects is whatever mechanisms control expressions of proteins. I guess this is true even to the granularity of smooth muscle control.

_________________
"Try - Just A Little Bit Harder" - Janis Joplin
CCSVI procedure Albany Aug 2010
'_MS' is over - if you want it
Patients sans/without patience

right, you got it. There is an important difference as to what peak you are in...


that is exactly it: you die with diabetes, you don't die from diabetes...


that remains to be seen... the new insights allow us the luxury of the Micawberish option..


right, I am sure MS is in part (and perhaps significant part) diabetes related neuropathy.. and perhaps in the end it will show that MS can be related to diabetes in all its facets...


there are indeed a number of genetic defects: the vascular narrowings that may be inherited from one to the next generation (Boston study; vascular cross compression see my posting above); a genetic pre-disposition for diabetes; perhaps even the number of vitamin D 'glucose' gates in cells (is also dependent on environmental factors i.e. exposure to UV light of the mother)... but I think that the mechanism that controls the nutrition and transcription is primarily related to nuclear receptor functioning in the endothelium/vessel wall, that is to say this is not about one or the other genetic deficiency... but rather related to "poisoning" of the vessel walls by iron deposits (CCSVI) etc. etc.

you are right, this is related, but again it is about key receptor functioning...

This article from Chinese researchers fully confirms my theory on this thread.
They haven't gotten yet to the point as to why this oxygen-glucose deprivation happens but I am very sure it is all diabetes related...
As I said before, it is high time the sector looks into the "blue ocean" of knowledge out there..

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi ... ne.0037574

Oxygen-Glucose Deprivation Induced Glial Scar-Like Change in Astrocytes


to say it with Van Morrison http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHuS3-OaLKw

...
I will walk out of the darkness
And I'll walk into the light
And I'll sing the song of ages
And the dawn will end the night

I'm a dweller on the threshold
And I'm waiting at the door
And I'm standing in the darkness
I don't want to wait no more

I'm a dweller on the threshold
And I cross some burning ground
And I'll go down to the water
Let the great illusion drown
...

Hi Leonard~ I think that dysfunctional nitric oxide may be what is responsible.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1218180/

It has also been discovered that when blood is stored it loses nitric oxide within minutes and is then unable to transport oxygen.

Here is some information on this. This Science Daily article is entitled, "Banked Blood Loses Ability to Deliver Oxygen to Tissues."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 171248.htm
Nitric oxide does clearly explain the oxygen-glucose deprivation.

So, the question is, what causes nitric oxide to become dysfunctional? Here is some info from my book.

Homocysteine can also cause nitric oxide to become dysfunctional and
generate superoxide. The study entitled “Dysfunction of Endothelial
Nitric Oxide Synthase and Atherosclerosis” explains how this process
begins (Kawashima, 2004). It states that, “Under conditions in which
vascular tissue levels of tetrahydrobiopterin, a cofactor for nitric oxide
synthase are deficient or lacking, endothelial nitric oxide synthase becomes
dysfunctional and produces superoxide rather than nitric oxide.” So, a
lack of tetrahydrobiopterin would lead to dysfunctional nitric oxide. The
paper “Homocysteine impairs coronary artery endothelial function by
inhibiting tetrahydrobiopterin in patients with hyperhomocysteinemia”
demonstrated that, “Plasma level of nitric oxide and tetrahydrobiopterin
were significantly lower in patients with hyperhomocysteinemia than in
controls,” (He, 2011).

Studies show that MS patients have elevated levels of homocysteine.

Thank you Annesse. It would be useful to complement this information here with a copy of your posting on the topic New Information of Wed May 30, 2012 3:05 pm to expand on the diabetes 2 relationship..

There is the presumption of a relationship between rheuma arthritis, diabetes and MS (which disease is entirely diabetes related) in the sense that all these diseases are autoimmune diseases that originate from the gut.

See for instance: Altered Immunity & The Leaky Gut Syndrome http://www.mold-survivor.com/leaky_gut_syndrome.html

quote:
The leaky gut syndrome is almost always associated with autoimmune disease .... An autoimmune disease is defined as one in which the immune system makes antibodies against its own tissues. [well we know they come from the gut...] Diseases in this category include lupus, alopecia, rheumatoid arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, Sjogren's Syndrome, vitiligo, thyroiditis, vasculitis, Crohn's Disease, ulcerative colitis, urticaria;hives, diabetes and Raynaud's disease.
unquote

Now, guess what? Last week I was told that the latest medication for combatting rheumatic diseases works via the gut!
Would you believe it?!

I searched a bit and found this:
http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2012/feb ... ack_01.htm

quote
Summary
A team of Stanford researchers recently demonstrated that both rheumatoid and osteoarthritis are triggered by an abnormal immune response.

Arthritis is traditionally treated with side effect–prone anti-inflammatory and immune-suppressing drugs. A unique compound has been developed that is capable of safely and naturally desensitizing the immune system so that it “learns” to stop launching the attacks on aging joints that cause arthritis pain and swelling.

Through a pathway known as induced oral tolerance, undenatured type II chicken collagen retrains the immune system to correctly recognize exposed cartilage proteins as the body’s own tissues—instead of incorrectly seeing them as foreign microbes—thus preventing the inflammatory and destructive attack that causes osteoarthritic joint pain and stiffness.

Supported by the anti-inflammatory action of a novel composition of AKBA-enriched Boswellia serrata—and further boosted by the joint-rebuilding nutrients, glucosamine sulfate and boron, 40 mg a day of undenatured type II chicken collagen may halt the abnormal immune process that strikes arthritis sufferers.


...
The exciting news is a novel intervention has been identified that safely regulates the immune system to protect aging joint tissue from autoimmune attacks....

If T-cells are given adequate preparation, however, they can be “taught” that a specific molecule is a friend rather than a foe. Where does such T-cell “training” take place?

In the intestinal tract, specifically the lower end of the small intestine, which is rich in collections of immune tissue called Peyer’s patches. Peyer’s patches act as “training centers” for T-cells, exposing them to all sorts of molecular shapes that are natural components of the food we eat. In that fashion, we desensitize our immune systems and develop a natural tolerance to new foods without having constant allergic or inflammatory reactions.

So, by providing native collagen of the right 3-dimensional structure to the digestive tract, rather than to the bloodstream directly, we can “educate” our T-cells to ignore collagen when they encounter it in joints. Scientists say that this enables people to develop oral tolerance to collagen.

And oral tolerance to collagen powerfully suppresses joint inflammation, as has been shown in numerous laboratory studies. Oral administration of soluble type II collagen even prevents arthritis induced experimentally by collagen injections.

But not just any collagen works. Typical commercial processing causes collagen to become denatured, uncoiling from its normal helical shape and losing its 3-dimensional structure. Denatured collagen has no beneficial effects on joint inflammation.

A more natural form of collagen, called undenatured type II collagen, or UC-II®, has recently been developed. UC-II® is a highly effective product derived from chicken breast cartilage, a rich source of natural collagen. UC-II® retains its original 3-dimensional molecular structure, keeping it recognizable by T-cells in Peyer’s patches. And UC-II is robust enough to survive the harsh conditions in the stomach and small intestine, arriving at Peyer’s patches with its molecules intact.

unquote

It seems the therapy tackles the rheumatic disease at its root cause.
I believe that, besides for rheuma, this is a promising path for an effective medication for diabetes/MS that 're-learns' our immune system at its very root, that is in the gut... and that may become a useful complementary medicinal therapy to diet, antibiotics, gut flora transplants and the like.

I have re-adapted the concept in the first posting on pg 1.

Today, doctors are surrounded by a vast array of technological wonders and marvellous drug therapies. They have lost sight however of just how important the patient is in determining recovery from illness. Emotions plays a significant role in the development of illness. Books have been written about the role of stress, distress and illness. The article under the link below shows now that the wiring in our brains can improve in a matter of months through meditation:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic ... month.html

This is a most clear and objective proof that control of people's mind and lives are a factor in recovery. I am sure this has a relation somewhere with the subconscious mind as was suggested before (e.g. the link with prolactin, perhaps melatonin as well). I think it is among the weaker influences, but a factor not to be dismissed entirely...

As opposed to the mind connection, a strong influence in illnesss is the role of nutrition, in particular micro-cellular nutrition. Researchers from around the world are discovering the importance of the glucose metabolism in MS but also in other diseases. Just a few postings here above is a link to a paper by Chinese researchers on the consequences of oxygen-glucose deprivation on astrocytes and a UCLA study on how high-fructose consumption can undermine brain function as well as the body.

Below you find a link to a recent article by Russian researchers. What is most interesting here is that this seem to be recycled material from earlier research in 2003 (see second link that was posted here before). So these researchers have picked up the issue again. Obviously because they see that things are happening here…

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22677678
[The role of brain glucose metabolism in the development of cognitive dysfunctions in patients with remitting and secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis.]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12938635
[Changes of cerebral glucose metabolism in patients with multiple sclerosis and their role in formation of the clinical picture and progression of the disease].

This Brazilian paper under the link below is also of interest. It shows that brain diseases can have both a diabetic and a non-diabetic component. I do not exclude the possibility that this may be the case for MS too, although a significant part of MS cases – in particular those who a progressive course – is directly diabetes / glucose metabolism related and wider than the brain only…

http://www2.marilia.unesp.br/revistas/i ... le/734/636
[Depression, Brain Glucose Metabolism and Consciousness]