BCG vaccine research

[lyndacarol]

I came across this interesting interview with Dr. Denise Faustman, Harvard researcher working on type I diabetes treatment. She mentions that Italian researchers are working on the same treatment for multiple sclerosis and that they are ahead. Do we have any members in Italy who have read of the BCG vaccine being used to manage TNF for MS? Added 10/15/2012: I wonder if this (http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00202410), compliments of a post by mrbarlow, could be the work in Italy that Dr. Faustman references in the video, "New Hope against Diabetes."

You may find this short video interesting:(No longer available)

http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/192352 ... t-diabetes

With my concern about excess insulin, I admit that the "kickstart" to the pancreas' production of insulin mentioned in this Bloomberg article is worrisome: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-0 ... or-tb.html

[lyndacarol]

In material I have received from Dr. Faustman's lab at the Massachusetts General Hospital, I read:

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) has an impeccable safety profile in humans. In fact, it has been labeled by some medical experts as the "safest vaccine" ever developed. BCG has been used for over 80 years worldwide as a vaccine for tuberculosis (TB) and is also used for the treatment of bladder cancer at high doses. In many countries, receiving BCG to prevent TB is mandatory.

Dr. Faustman has found that the BCG vaccine allows the pancreas to produce insulin again. While this is good for type I diabetics who produce no insulin, my concern is that it may lead to over production of insulin (hyperinsulinemia) in others (and may lead to MS in some, if my suspicions are correct). BCG is approved for use in the United States to prevent TB, but it is not given as a routine vaccine because the incidence of TB is low here. However, it is my understanding that the BCG vaccine is mandatory in Ireland (all of the UK? Where else?). Could this practice contribute to the high rates of MS in Scotland, Wales, elsewhere?

And while this vaccine is not routinely given in the US, I wonder if it might be given to our military in the large series of shots they receive in their standard medical review.

Just thinking again…

[CureOrBust]

... However, it is my understanding that the BCG vaccine is mandatory in Ireland (all of the UK? Where else?). Could this practice contribute to the high rates of MS in Scotland, Wales, elsewhere?…

from the wikipedia

The BCG vaccine was first used in humans in 1921

Do you have any data showing the incidence of MS over time, to see any changes around or more specifically after 1921?

[lyndacarol]

Sorry, Cure. To answer your questions, I have no data about the incidence of MS after 1921. It seems to me that could be very important! I wonder where a person could obtain that information…

[CureOrBust]

Try the MS association for the country maybe? an email.