Category: <span>Etiology of MS</span>

Published April 18, 2010 by

Multiple Sclerosis has a History

MS has a history. I highly recommend you explore it for the “big picture” it provides.

“Multiple Sclerosis: a journey through time” is an audiovisual tour of the history of multiple sclerosis. Available in English and German, the online presentation is offered by the German MS Society, Deutsche Multiple Sklerose Gesellschaft (DMSG) and AMSEL Association, a self-help and advocacy organization for MS patients in Baden-Wuerttemberg.

The History of MS gives viewers an excellent overview of the history of this neurological disease beginning in 1395 AD. It’s a very useful educational tool. For example, I didn’t know lumbar punctures have been used for diagnostic purposes since 1913 or that 1972 brought the use of visually evoked potentials to measure the speed of optic nerve conduction as a diagnostic tool for Multiple Sclerosis.

But even more than an educational tool, The History of MS offers viewers a broad perspective. And broader perspectives are important for caregivers.

First, a broad perspective puts your personal situation into a context. It’s easy for some caregivers to feel alone. Others, overwhelmed by the newness of a diagnosis, are confused and without foundation – especially if all they know about MS is the little that most people who are untouched by it know.

Second, because one hears, “there is no cure for Multiple Sclerosis”, the history of medical research is heartening. There is no cure now. But perhaps a cure will be discovered.

Third, having one’s perspective broadened opens one up to experience hope. I’ve considered many times that even if a cure is discovered, it still will not restore the lost neurological functioning. If my wife has lost the ability to walk or swallow, having a cure for MS will only stop those symptoms from worsening. But The History of MS projects into the future, too. It is not unreasonable to think that medical research will, as the presentation offers for 2020, discover a way to repair myelin.

Will myelin repair happen? No one knows. Could it happen? Again, no one knows, but that scientists are imagining it, gives me significant hope!

Website: The History of Multiple Sclerosis

Etiology of MS MS Research MS Support Groups Reasons for Hope

history of multiple sclerosis lumbar puncture myelin repair neurological functioning optic nerve visual evoked response

Published December 21, 2009 by

About CCSVI aka Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency

If you’ve paid attention to information on the internet related to Multiple Sclerosis this month, you’ve certainly seen references to CCSVI or Chronic Cerebospinal Venous Insufficiency as a proposed of Multiple Sclerosis.

“Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency” is the name given by Dr. Paolo Zamboni to the backward flow of blood into the brain due to constricted veins which should drain blood from the brain. Dr. Zamboni is the Director of the Vascular Diseases Center at the University of Ferrara in Italy.

It’s too early to know whether CCSVI will be found to cause Multiple Sclerosis, but researchers are focusing their attention on it.

A good introduction to CCSVI is found in today’s BuffaloNews.com in an article titled, “Study could hold key to MS treatment”. Dr. Robert Zivaidinov is the Director of the Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center and the principal investigator of the first major study of Dr. Zamboni’s controversial new theory that blockage in the veins that drain the brain cause Multiple Sclerosis.

Dr. Zamboni’s theory is controversial because it stands against the current assumption that MS is an autoimmune disease. The treatment of choice if Zamboni is correct is apparently angioplasty of the brain veins. This has been referred to as ‘liberation therapy’.

Important things to remember

First, while one is tempted to become excited about a potential cure for MS, I recommend against it. A lot of theories and potential treatments have been ruled out. Many more are currently being tested. If you had become excited about each, so far, you would have been disappointed by each.

Second, remember that a “cure” for MS will probably not undo the damage already done to the brain by Multiple Sclerosis … whatever the cause. “Cure” simply means an end to the disease process and progression.

Finally, if Dr. Zamboni’s hypothesis is found valid after further research, I imagine some pharmaceutical companies may have some explaining to do.

Here are links to additional information about CCSVI:

Study could hold key to MS treatment

New York researchers testing MS theory

MS Anger and Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency (with Video and Diagrams)

National MS Society Article with Questions and Answers

Etiology of MS MS Research MS Treatment

autoimmune disease CCSVI Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency MS cure MS Research MS researcher neuroimaging

Published February 10, 2009 by

Nervous System Theory Disproven

Researchers Disprove 15-year-old Theory about the Nervous System

(PhysOrg.com) — A delay in traffic may cause a headache, but a delay in the nervous system can cause much more. University of Missouri researchers have uncovered clues identifying which proteins are involved in the development of the nervous system and found that the proteins previously thought to play a significant role, in fact, do not. Understanding how the nervous system develops will give researchers a better understanding of neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disorders.

Etiology of MS Reasons for Hope

MS Research

Published November 19, 2008 by

Neuron gene linked to Multiple Sclerosis

Neuron gene linked to multiple sclerosis: study from PhysOrg.com
A newly-discovered genetic flaw may lay the nervous system open to assault from the body’s own immune system, leading to multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study published Sunday. http://www.physorg.com/news145460691.html

Etiology of MS

cause of multiple sclerosis MS Research