This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

A list of recently funded NMSS research is attached. Rather annoyingly they cannot afford to fund a trial of estriol but manage to fund numerous mouse focused research. Some of this stuff is a bit deja vu - and there's the usual promise that the research might lead to better treatments etc. There's even some research on histamine - which should please HarryZ.

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/pdf/re ... search.pdf

A nurse on another forum made the comment that the FSDA requires new drugs or research had to be tested first on mice.

Do any of the medical people here know if that is true? If it is, I will stop complaining about the mice research, even though it appears a lot of researchers don't find the mouse EAE relevant to human MS.

gwa

Ian,

There's even some research on histamine - which should please HarryZ.

I find it interesting that the NMSS is funding histamine research for a doc in Italy when they told Elaine Delack (inventor of Prokarin) in their own country, to basically take a hike and stop bothering them about assistance in her histamine work!! They went so far as to tell Elaine that per a study done in California in the 80's, ( horribly designed study on 20 patients) it proved that histamine therapy for MS did not work.

As well, Dr. Hinton Jonez, gave IV histamine treatment to thousands of patients in the US in the late 40's and early 50's. The results were very impressive but when he died suddenly in 1952, all of his research died with him and was never followed up by anyone for years.

I've sent the link to Elaine and asked her to review the info on this.

Thanks for posting this link.

Harry

I did some follow up on the histamine work being done in Italy on that poor MS mouse.

The majority of studies are still being done on the EAE animal model which has been proven not be similar to MS in the clinical symptoms nor the lab indices. The research on the histamine that is being done in Milan Italy also is unfortunately being done on the EAE model so the results may be worthless. In the EAE model they are stimulating an immune response by introducing an antigen into the CNS and of course this sets off an inflammatory response and attack by the immune system. So if this researcher tests an antihistamine (H1 blocker) this will reduce the inflammation and immune response in the mouse model may seem to give improvement in the symptoms. Of course this may result in the erroneous conclusion by many that histamine treatment in MS would be detrimental.

We will just have to wait and see. Hopefully this research will test to see if the results in the mouse model hold true in MS patients before just jumping to a conclusion based on the EAE model.

Harry

The body's production of histamine is what makes apitherapy (bee stings) work.

i just happen to have read this thread, and came accross this page on histamine.
http://www.thorne.com/altmedrev/fulltext/ms5-3.html
or as a pdf:
<shortened url>

Denver,

DenverCO wrote:The body's production of histamine is what makes apitherapy (bee stings) work.

Yes, that's what I have read in the past as well. About two years ago a doctor (PhD I believe) wrote an article going into great detail on how he thought bee sting therapy worked in MS patients. Of course I can't find this link anymore!!

There are, however, better ways to get histamine going in your system than allowing a number of bees to take a crack at you

Harry

Cure,

That paper was part of the early work done when looking at Prokarin. Dr. Gilson, who also has his PhD in chemistry, did a fair amount of investigational study with histamine. It's too bad now that he isn't involved with this anymore.

The NMSS worked hard at ensuring that histamine (Prokarin) treatment got no support from them and actually went out of their way to keep it under wraps. That's why I am surprised to see they have now provided some research money into it.

Harry