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Drugs taken by HIV patients could also be used to prevent and treat multiple sclerosis, scientists say.

Researchers have discovered that people with HIV have a significantly lower risk of developing MS, a debilitating neurological condition. It is not yet clear whether the lowered risk is caused by the HIV virus itself, or by the antiretroviral drugs taken by sufferers. But if future research shows antiretrovirals to be key, it raises the possibility that they could one day be used to help MS patients............ Read More - http://www.ms-uk.org/retroviruses

Seeing what those medications can do to HIV patients, I'm not really sure I'd want those side effects. I have a few friends with HIV and they are always suffering from nasty side effects.

If I had to guess, the incidence is lower since the body is more focused on a chronic attack on immunity. That would mean less penetration between the BBB since anti-bodies would be focused on HIV.

Hmmm..one patient with HIV and MS and his MS symptoms go away for 12 years after HIV drugs! Is this grasping at straws or what?

For years, various cancer drugs have been tried on MS patients with some pretty heavy side effects. These drugs shake up one's immune system terribly and it's no wonder that in some cases, the MS symptoms subside. But now they want to try HIV drugs because of one patient's situation. Sure hope they don't rush into this!!

HarryZ wrote:Hmmm..one patient with HIV and MS and his MS symptoms go away for 12 years after HIV drugs! Is this grasping at straws or what?

From the pubmed report:

This led researchers from Denmark to conduct an epidemiological study on the incidence of MS in a newly diagnosed HIV population (5018 HIV cases compared with 50 149 controls followed for 31 875 and 393 871 person-years, respectively).

RESULTS:
Overall, the rate ratio of developing MS in people with HIV, relative to those without HIV, was 0.38 (95% CI 0.15 to 0.79).

CONCLUSIONS:
HIV infection is associated with a significantly decreased risk of developing MS. Mechanisms of this observed possibly protective association may include immunosuppression induced by chronic HIV infection and antiretroviral medications.

The 12-year remission of one person with MS only led to the epidemiological study. The conclusion above was taken from the analysis of several thousand medical records. Interesting result.

MS is caused by a virus, just like HIV.
HIV is supressed by anti-viral, MS is too.
for the overall concept, see the 1st posting of http://www.thisisms.com/forum/general-d ... 15188.html

CONCLUSIONS:
HIV infection is associated with a significantly decreased risk of developing MS. Mechanisms of this observed possibly protective association may include immunosuppression induced by chronic HIV infection and antiretroviral medications.

HIV is one mean disease to have and you can imagine the body's reaction and struggle to try and fight it off. Is it surprising that these patients have a very low risk of developing MS? Would be interesting to study if cancer patients have a much lower risk in getting MS as well.

I'm just saying that I hope their experimentation with using HIV drugs on MS patients takes a long hard look at what they are doing!

Leonard wrote:MS is caused by a virus, just like HIV.
HIV is supressed by anti-viral, MS is too.
for the overall concept, see the 1st posting of http://www.thisisms.com/forum/general-d ... 15188.html

Researchers have not been able to prove that theory for decades despite all their studies. What inside info do you have on that...and of course the proof that it "is" the cause of MS.

Some MS patients use immune system altering and viral suppressing drugs and it has no effect on them at all. While at the same time, others benefit. Sound familiar in treating MS?

HarryZ wrote:

Leonard wrote:MS is caused by a virus, just like HIV.
HIV is supressed by anti-viral, MS is too.
for the overall concept, see the 1st posting of http://www.thisisms.com/forum/general-d ... 15188.html

Researchers have not been able to prove that theory for decades despite all their studies. What inside info do you have on that...and of course the proof that it "is" the cause of MS.

Some MS patients use immune system altering and viral suppressing drugs and it has no effect on them at all. While at the same time, others benefit. Sound familiar in treating MS?

Maybe it has to do with the kind of damage ms has caused in the particular patient. Maybe the disease causes greater vascular damage in ccsviers and that issue has to be addressed for them in addition to the viral issue?

Anonymoose wrote:

HarryZ wrote:

Leonard wrote:MS is caused by a virus, just like HIV.
HIV is supressed by anti-viral, MS is too.
for the overall concept, see the 1st posting of http://www.thisisms.com/forum/general-d ... 15188.html

Researchers have not been able to prove that theory for decades despite all their studies. What inside info do you have on that...and of course the proof that it "is" the cause of MS.

Some MS patients use immune system altering and viral suppressing drugs and it has no effect on them at all. While at the same time, others benefit. Sound familiar in treating MS?

Maybe it has to do with the kind of damage ms has caused in the particular patient. Maybe the disease causes greater vascular damage in ccsviers and that issue has to be addressed for them in addition to the viral issue?

Anonymoose, I think your comment/question is fully correct.

ccsvi links the drainage of the dural nerve system, the dural sinuses, and meningeal inflammation and provides an explanation for meningeal inflammation and subpial cortical lesions exclusively observed in MS patients.

Later on vasculopathy is caused by productive [HERV/herpes/VZV/EBV] virus infection in cerebral (arteries and) veins/capilaries. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ... 0X14000689

I have MS and my energy level is going down, my brother has a mitochondrial energy failure low energy but has no MS. I had ccsvi, I guess he does not. He has lesions, more than me, but probably on another location. What we share is a chronic HERV infection.

Next months, 10000 neurologists and researchers meet in Boston (ACTRIMS/ECTRIMS).
I think it's a major shortcoming that the viral connection is not at all on the agenda.
Yet another year lost? What should we do? Go block the premise?

Maybe it has to do with the kind of damage ms has caused in the particular patient. Maybe the disease causes greater vascular damage in ccsviers and that issue has to be addressed for them in addition to the viral issue?

That's the problem....nobody knows exactly what mechanism causes MS so when you have all these other symptoms showing up (and they vary widely from patient to patient) how can anyone state what causes the disease in the first place? One can't and that's why when anyone states that any one thing (virus, circulation problem, autoimmune system gone haywire etc etc) is the cause of the disease, it's simply a guess!

Next months, 10000 neurologists and researchers meet in Boston (ACTRIMS/ECTRIMS).
I think it's a major shortcoming that the viral connection is not at all on the agenda.
Yet another year lost? What should we do? Go block the premise?

Probably not on the agenda because there isn't enough proven data and/or research that merits discussion at a conference like this. Papers that are presented here must have a lot of pretty good information and data in them because the researchers' reputations are on the line and the last thing they would want is to speculate on something that they can't back up.

It is all guessing...the only way to move forward, guess and test.

Pender's adoptive immunotherapy/ebv case study was presented last year at ectrims. I'm guessing (lol) it will get back on the agenda when his larger study comes together. He's quick to produce results and share. I doubt he's going to drop things at this point. Next year, he'll be back.