This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

You read this sort of research and you have to conclude that the MS researchers have got years of well-paid work ahead of them.

http://www.msif.org/go.rm?id=14250

oo

Bob,

I don't know whether other mammals get so-called auto-immune diseases, but my friend's old dog has arthritis (according to the vet).

The main MS model has been with mice. But I read that a US researcher in California was working with Marmoset monkeys and I think the Italians are working with monkeys i.e. they are seeing if they can induce an MS like disease.

Ian

i don't think wild animals would get it. want to guess why?

oo

hey bob, i haven't specifically read about animal disease. but i have certainly read plenty about inside vs outside, and disease!! i am a campaigner for outside good, inside bad!

oo

well now i'm curious too why you thought wild animals might not get it. i think partly because animals, ourselves included, are supposed to be exposed to sunlight, and wild animals get a lot more uv exposure than pets for example. but as i said i have not read specifically on animal disease, so to make any claims, i would have to learn more about cholecalciferol production in critters with fur.

Dogs, specifically German Shepherds, can get a disease very similar to MS, called Degenerative Myelopathy (DM):

http://neuro.vetmed.ufl.edu/neuro/DM_Web/DMofGS.htm

_________________
Disclaimer: Any information you find on this site should not be considered medical advice. All decisions should be made with the consent of your doctor, otherwise you are at your own risk.

oo

Bob, just wondering, if you've been following helminth for years, what is standing between your conviction that it could be involved in MS and actually trying it as a therapy, if its harmless (and if its unlikely FDA will ever approve the research). I'm not recommending, just curious, is there some risk that I'm not undertanding. The yuck factor isn't big for me.
LJM

Animals don't live as long as humans and we don't come remotely close to spending the money on veterinarian research as we do on human research. If you review the history of MS related discoveries, most everything that is known was discovered in the last 20 years. Meaning, knowledge is new and it's being applied to humans first. There's little money to be made developing cures for animals. So my point is that Animals get autoimmune diseases (check out some of the veterinarian journals especially the British ones) but it's not remotely close to being high on the list of things to pour medical research money on. I don't intend to have a sterile sounding thought, I'm just being practical. napay

_________________
My Starting Point
Understanding MS 101: Doctor Talk and People Talk<br /><br />

oo

Bob, I read about your helminth theory on another site and thought it was very interesting. I know it was met with some trepidation but people on this site are a little more open to "alternative" theories. I wish I was as smart as all of you to even be able to come up with a theory. I would be very curious to know how often autoimmune diseases occur in wild and domesticated animals but as Napay stated, they will probably never even look at the animal world. To me it makes more sense then some of the other stupid studies they waste time and money on. If it was proven that swallowing a parasite could cure me, I think I could get over the yuck factor quick.

oo