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Iron supplements and MS dx
Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 4:22 am
by crshelton
I hope I am posting this in the correct forum. Has there ever been conducted to ask how many patients Dx with MS have been on Iron Supplements at some point in life? Any light u can shed on this would be great. I have been searching for information to no avail, but findings on the effects of iron reduction therapy are rather interesting in patients with MS. Curious if supplements of iron have been linked in some cases of MS. Mother Dx with MS after 15 years of iron supplementation for low iron. Her situation seems to coincide with ccsvi and I am researching but I am no doctor. The lesions on her brain and spinal cord, paralysis from waste down. She is bedridden in nursing home for past 8 years. After discontinuance of iron supplements, no progression has occurred. Thank you in advance for any information.
Re: Iron supplements and MS dx
Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 11:00 am
by Cece
Some subjects with multiple sclerosis (MS) present with low blood iron parameters. Anecdotal reports and a single patient study suggest that iron supplementation may be beneficial in these subjects. Myelin is regenerated continually, but prerequisites for this process are iron and a functional folate-vitamin B12-methylation pathway. The aim of this study was to determine iron status, folate and homocysteine in MS subjects, and to evaluate the effect on MS symptoms if deficiencies were addressed. Results: In relapsing-remitting MS subjects, serum iron concentration correlated significantly with age at diagnosis (r=0.49; p=0.008). In Caucasian female MS subjects, serum iron and ferritin concentrations were significantly lower than in matched controls. In a 6-month pilot study, 12 subjects taking a regimen of nutritional supplements designed to promote myelin regeneration, improved significantly neurologically as measured by the Kurzke EDSS (Total Score means 3.50 to 2.45, 29.9%; p=0.021). These were significantly improved (p=0.002) compared to 6 control group patients taking multivitamins (Kurzke Score increased by 13.9% from 4.83 to 5.50). Both groups had significantly reduced homocysteine concentrations at 6 months, suggesting that methylation is necessary but not sufficient for myelin regeneration.
http://link.springer.com/article/10.100 ... 006-9019-0
Low-iron MS patients on iron supplements did better than those on multivitamins in this research.
Re: Iron supplements and MS dx
Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 11:18 am
by Cece
http://www.neurology.org/content/75/18/1581.short#
There is no evidence in the literature to support systemic iron overload in MS; most studies report normal iron levels. Iron overload (ferritin levels higher than 200 ug/L for women and 300 ug/L for men, or transferrin saturation over 45%) does not occur at a higher frequency in patients with MS in comparison to the general population. Furthermore, evidence of accumulation of iron in liver, heart or spleen is lacking in MS.
Intuitively it seems as if iron supplements or the iron that's added to cereal and other food would be bad. Iron kills neurons, there's a known accumulation of iron in the brain in MS. But the research doesn't really support the idea.
In CCSVI, one of the concerns is microbleeding through a weakened blood-brain barrier that ends up leaving blood cells in the brain that break down into components, including ferritin iron, that can damage neurons. Other things in the blood can get across a weakened blood-brain barrier as well, including toxins, so if iron supplementation means more free iron in the blood, there is a theoretical basis for it to be crossing over and causing damage as well.
CCSVI treatment may result in faster blood flow, which causes the blood-brain barrier to tighten up, which is a good thing.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... 536.x/full
That's a link to a good article about iron in MS but it's scholarly and densely packed.