foodconsumer.org: Multiple Sclerosis News:  Drug, Vitamins and Sunshine

Multiple Sclerosis News:  Drug, Vitamins and Sunshine
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admin on 01/23/2010 22:21:00
 
Saturday Jan 23, 2010 (foodconsumer.org) -- The Food and Drug Administration
announced on Jan 22 that it has approved Ampyra, an experimental drug made by
Acorda Therapeutics, to improve walking in patients with multiple sclerosis.
Ampyra reportedly increased walking speed by 10 to 30 percent in many patients. 
The drug is expected to hit the market in March 2010.
But the drug can induce a wide range of side effects including seizures if the
drug is overused, urinary tract infection, insomnia, dizziness, headache,
nausea, asthenia, back pain, balance disorder, multiple sclerosis relapse,
paresthesia, nasopharyngitis, constipation, dyspepsia, and pharyngolaryngeal
pain.
For those who do not want to take Ampyra because of the side effects, there is
good news.
One study in the Aug 2009 issue of the Journal of Nutrition suggests that taking
supplements of vitamins and minerals like folate, magnesium and copper may help
MS patients.
The study led by researchers in the Netherlands found that  MS patients had
lower levels of a number of nutrients.
Another study in the Annals of Neurology suggests that taking high doses of
vitamin D may help prevent relapse attacks in patients with multiple sclerosis
(MS), specifically, those who developed the disease during childhood.
The study led by Ellen Mowry, MD, MCR, a clinical instructor of neurology at the
UCSF Multiple Sclerosis Center found an association between low level of vitamin
D and higher risk of relapse attacks in MS patients.
“We have known for some time that vitamin D insufficiency is a risk factor for
developing MS, but this is the first study to assess whether vitamin D levels
influence the disease course of those who already have MS,” said Mowry, the
lead author of the study.
Increasing the vitamin D levels in the blood by 10 nanograms per mL was
associated with a 34 percent decrease in the rate of subsequent relapse, the
researchers found.
Mowry et al. said the finding suggests that raising the vitamin D in MS patients
by 15 ng/mL by taking about 2000 IUs of the vitamin daily could reduce the
relapse rate by half.
For the study, the researchers measured vitamin D levels in blood samples from
110 patients who experienced symptoms starting at age 18 or younger and 
received care at either UCSF Children’s Hospital or the State University of
New York Stony Brook’s Regional Pediatric MS Center of Excellence.  Per
relapse suffered, the patients were followed for 1.7 years.
Another study published Dec 30, 2009 in the Jan 2010 issue of Preventing Chronic
Disease, a journal run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found
that exposure to sunshine was associated with a lowered risk of multiple
sclerosis.
Curtis W. Noonan and colleagues at the CDC analyzed sun exposure in three areas
including Lorain County, Ohio; the cities of Sugar Creek and Independence,
Missouri; and 19 counties surrounding Lubbock, Texas and found people in the
south who had high exposure to sunlight had low risk of MS.
The three-year age-adjusted prevalence was 47.2 per 100,000 population in the
Texas study area, 86.3 per 100,000 population in the Missouri study area and
109.5 per 100,000 population in the Ohio study area.
Multiple sclerosis is a progressive disease in which the immune system attacks
and degrades nervous fibers in the brain and spine.  It affects an estimated
400,000 people in the United States.  There is no cure for the disease.
Reporting by Jimmy Downs and editing by Rachel Stockton
The article contains content from articles early reported on foodconsumer.org