This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Hi,

Anybody found any products that reduce the amount of damage to the eyes?

Thanks,

Abe

ABE,

When I was first diagnosed, 35 years ago, I had Optic Neuritis (blurry vision in my right eye).

My neuro put me on ACTH after an ophthalmologist confirmed the ON.

I was in really bad shape with balance, eye, leg and hand weakness, etc. I was kept on the ACTH regimen for 4 months and the ON cleared up and has never returned.

Now I have to wear reading glasses because I am getting old and have the usual eye problems for golden oldie people.

There are newer treatments now, so you should be able to get some treatment that will help your eyes. If you haven't gone to a doctor, go now, since eyes are not the part of your body to ignore.

gwa

Hi Abe, I think a good multivitamin for the eyes is Visual Eyes by Source Naturals:
http://www.vitacost.com/productResults. ... ual%20eyes
However, you might never have any problems with your eyes. I never have, although I might be unusual in that. When I first started taking antibiotics I was very scared for a few weeks because I kept seeing a kind of low level flashlight whenever I opened my eyes in the dark. I thought this was the start of eye problems, the last thing I wanted, but it just faded away after a few weeks and has never been back.

Sarah

Abe

Minocycline might also be "a product", albeit a drug, to consider for reducing damage to the eyes--at least based on research in mice.

Multiple neuroprotective mechanisms of minocycline in autoimmune CNS inflammation

Available therapies mainly target the inflammatory component of the disease but fail to prevent neurodegeneration.

To investigate the effect of minocycline on the survival of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), the neurons that form the axons of the optic nerve

Functional and histopathological data of RGCs and optic nerves revealed neuronal and axonal protection when minocycline treatment was started on the day of immunization.

Furthermore, we demonstrate that minocycline-induced neuroprotection is related to a direct antagonism of multiple mechanisms leading to neuronal cell death such as the induction of anti-apoptotic intracellular signalling pathways and a decrease in glutamate excitotoxicity.

From these observations, we conclude that minocycline exerts neuroprotective effects independent of its anti-inflammatory properties.

Research on minocycline in glaucoma and optic nerve injuries (not MS mice) was also promising.

Minocycline delays death of retinal ganglion cells in experimental glaucoma and after optic nerve transection

CONCLUSION: Minocycline significantly enhances the survival of RGCs after ONT and in experimental glaucoma by delaying the apoptosis pathway. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The safety record of minocycline and its ability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier suggest that this drug is a promising neuroprotective drug for optic nerve injuries.

The clinical trial data for minocycline is looking good too.

Take care

Sharon

Hi all,

Sharon I've been taking a CAP since the end of April this year which incorporates Doxycycline so hopefully this is helping.

My current bout of ON has come on following a cold, which seems quite common. However I have noticed in the brief time I have had MS my vision has been steadily declining in both eyes despite my right eye never becoming painful. I'm not sure if this is so common.

Thanks for the vitamin recommendation Sarah. I'm going to order some.

GWA yes you're right I'll go visit my doctor this week.

Thanks

Abe--

Sorry about that, I didn't realize you were on the abx protocol. My apologies. I wish you all the best with it and am glad you're going to be seeing your doctor.

Sharon

This subject touches a nerve with me on several levels...the least of which being my profession

Professionaly, I would say the optic nerve is like any other nerve in our body that is being affected. There is no way to regenerate lost function once it is gone. But the previous posters are correct in that there is alot of research going on relative to certain drugs and neuroprotection, that is, protecting the optic nerve from damage. Alot of this research is being done in relation to glaucoma. I don't know of any supplements that have been proven to have any effect in this area.

Personally, I have had optic neuritis in each eye since I was diagnosed 4 years ago. My vision is back to "normal", but I feel that I have lots of fluctuations that I really can't explain....other than saying, "MS". I certainly hope a supplement or medicine will be proven to have benefit in the future. If you se any research please link it.

Many neuros would say that the best way to keep your eyesight from being more severely affected by MS is to take one of the immunomodulatory injectable drugs.
(I'm trying Copaxone.)

My uncorrected vision is 20/400 in both eyes, and corrected it tends to be around 20/40 to 20/60. I had severely abnormal results on the visual evoked response test. I've had nystagmus and optic neuritis and a "wandering" left eye.

Not much can be done about any of these conditions. But "dry eyes" are a problem I deal with daily. I have no idea if it's related to the MS, or just another feature of aging. I've had "dry eyes" since I was in my early 40s. I go through a routine to clean my eyelids, I put erythromycin ophthalmic ointment in one eye and drops (tear supplementation) in both eyes as needed (several times a day).

Ive been having trouble with my eyes since early spring. I've had both double vision and focusing issues. I've had 2 courses of steroids and things have seemed to resolved to a degree. I am, however, still not seeing like I used to. It is somewhat hard to describe but it just isn't "right". The neuro who prescribed the steroids said I couldn't do any more steroids for a while, so I would just have to wait for a while for this to resolve.

I saw a new neuro today who started me on minocycline. I didn't ask for it, he just prescribed it based on what I said my symptoms are. Shayk, I was happy to see your posting regarding mino and eyes. Thank you.

I'll keep you posted on how this works out.

Lori