we just need to be struck by lightning

[jerrygallow]

lightning struck this woman, and she claims it cured her MS

http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Mary_Clamser

[Kronk]

My first thought is HAHAHAHA... that is amazing!

The second thought is about electroporation. This is where the permeability of cell plasma membranes can be changed by adding a significant electrical charge. Its often used in the lab to introduce some substance into the cell. I wonder the mechanism of action for her case... I have read numerous studies that have proven the cells of pwMS are not permeable due to the excess of saturated fat and reduced amount of long chain unsaturated fats in the plasma. But to permanently change the cell porosity long term with a single jolt of electricity? seems unlikely... maybe the electricity reset the cell creation process?

Or she just went into long term remission or benign MS without any effect from the lightning strike.

[cheerleader]

that's so wild...I vaguely remember this story. It was way before Jeff's dx in 2007, so it didn't register. (Jeff worked on Unsolved Mysteries for a few years, when he was starting out.)
Would be interesting to know if she's still walking and in remission. I hope she is! She considers this healing a miracle...and indeed, lightening strikes do serious damage to the human body, so her benefit seems miraculous. Here's more detail on the story.

http://newsok.com/miracle-or-amazing-lu ... le/2533107

cheer

[lyndacarol]

Old story. Posted on November 3, 2009: http://www.thisisms.com/forum/general-d ... tml#p18190


And a later post: The lesson I take from these stories I've heard is that it is possible for any of us to improve.... Here is one case:

"On March 28, 1996, host Robert Stack of television's "Unsolved Mysteries" related the story of Mary Clamser of Oklahoma City, a multiple sclerosis patient for 23 years. Mrs. Clamser had relapsing-remitting MS, the most common form among women; her left leg and her bladder were most affected. Each attack lasted no longer than six months, until an attack in 1992 left her unable to walk without assistance.

On August 17, 1994, a sudden thunderstorm passed over Mrs. Clamser's house. She was in her wheelchair, preparing a bath. As she reached out to turn on the water, a bolt of lightning struck the house. Doctors estimate that at least ten thousand volts of electricity passed through her body. At first she felt "on fire" she said, full of "pins and needles." Then she suddenly realized she could feel her legs again. Since that day, improvement of her multiple sclerosis has been rapid. Two years later, she lives a completely normal life. "All symptoms of her multiple sclerosis," said Robert Stack, "are gone."

The article continued with the following description:

"This is not, of course, the first report of an affliction reversed by lightning. But the symptoms of multiple sclerosis are believed to be caused by disintegration of the insulating myelin sheaths surrounding nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord. How a bolt of lightning could restore these insulating layers rapidly--if at all--can hardly be imagined. The obvious implication is that demyelination is not the only cause of multiple sclerosis symptoms. Something else must be happening in the brain and spinal cord of these persons--something far more reversible than demyelination.

Neurologists have long known that demyelination alone cannot explain all aspects of this disease."

Now, I DON'T think we all need to be hit by lightning! When science discovers the cause of this disease, I think we will all get our lives back.

In the meantime, we must try to stay as healthy as possible and try to remain hopeful.