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Jeez, I hope this is true... Seems legit...

http://www.news-medical.net/?id=20211

Wow, that does sound promising. I've never heard of it. Not many vitamins/nutritional supplements have MS researchers studying them and pushing for clinical trials like this one appears to have. Looks like one to keep our eyes on...

"In the early phase of MS, anti-inflammatory drugs may work, but long-term you need to protect against axonal damage."

Who knows if this will work, but at least the doctor recognises that dealing with inflammation is not enough. You only have to look at PP and SP MS to realise this. At least someone is looking at the real cause of disability (the loss of axons (nerve fibres) and neurons (nerve cells)).

Ian

This is FASCINATING!
Vit B3 raises your levels of uric acid......and uric acid scavenges peroxynitrate which is a substance in lesions in MS. I wonder if it's working this way......
Uric acid excess causes gout and gout and MS are nearly completely mutually exclusive.
WW

hmmm... B3 is niacin, which causes a "niacin flush", that from my understanding is a release of histamine (to the skin), and histamine is what prokarin is based around...

reading this reminded me of the klenner protocol (see http://www.thisisms.com/ftopicp-17547.html)

It is the first I have herd that it raises uric acid levels. Although, i have read that some forms (sustained release i think) can cause liver issues, so it may not be as safe as the article would lead one to believe (see
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/niacin ... ent-niacin
under the side effects and warnings)

b3/niacin/niacinamide is one of many supplements i have found research on with respect to ms. niacin has been discussed a fair bit (20 search results) in the past here on thisisms. it is part of the klenner protocol and is also an alternative to the treatments discussed in the statins section - not many have tried it out though. on one of the strings there is an interesting bit about bacteria potentially implicated in ms. it suggests that niacin can stimulate bacteria growth so it contradicts the klenner protocol. interesting mysteries!

For those curious chemists amongst us, here's a site which depicts the differences between the drug used in the study, nicotinamide, and nicotinic acid.

NHE

This is interesting...

ADVERSE REACTIONS

In contrast to nicotinic acid, nicotinamide does not cause flushing and has only very rarely been associated with diabetogenic effects. There are rare reports of elevations in liver tests and liver damage, including jaundice and parenchymal liver cell injury. These reports were in those using very high doses of nicotinamide (10 grams or greater, daily).

Adverse reactions in those using high-dose nicotinamide, include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache and dizziness.

http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/nmdr ... 0183.shtml

Nicotinamide and nicotinic acid work in very different ways in the body.
This study uses nicotinamide, but it's nicotinic acid that causes the flushing reaction.

Apologies - in my earlier post I'd said niacin raises uric acid levels, but I think it's only nicotinic acid (the form they didn't use in the study) that does this see: http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/vitamins/niacin/
So bang goes my uric acid theory!
WW

i don't know if it makes much diff about the uric acid. what form of b, i mean. i agree uric acid is important, and i agree that levels of uric acid are linked to b3. that mayo clinic read posted above is good.. i like how it says studies have shown b3 is BETTER than lipitor at reducing cholesterol. that rocks.[/quote]

jimmylegs wrote:i like how it says studies have shown b3 is BETTER than lipitor at reducing cholesterol. that rocks.

Its not scientific, but, when i take a dose of lipitor, i can usually feel a slight reduction in tingling in my feet a few hours later. A niacin flush doesnt have the same effect. I would GUESS that its lipitors anti-inflamitory action, which the niacin doesn't seem to have on me.

Yeah, But........................

Still the same stupid EAE mouse model. So how can this be exciting? I am not impressed at all. You see these little articles all the time, just a different substance, compound, drug, vitamin. Nothing clinical ever comes of them. Sorry for the pessimism, I just don't have very much faith these stories anymore.

Let me clarify, my last post was not in reply to CureOrBust's message. Its in reply to the initial posted/linked article.

Brock

Viper,

I agree that these sorts of stories are ten a penny and never seem to pan out. Who knows about this one.

Attached is the story as posted on the NMSS website. The NMSS is funding the main researcher to examine axonal regeneration, so at least he appear to have some credentials.

Ian

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/resear ... pt21-2.asp

What I struggle with is: It has protect a neuroprotective effect, but from what type of damage? From any type of damage? Ranging from Trauma to disease? Or damage that is a result of EAE specifically. With out knowing what the cause is, how can you protect against it? I can't think of a good analogy!! dang it, but I hope I am making some sense out of something that doesn't make sense to me. I might be losing some axons of my own??? hehe[/quote]