Source of toxin that has been postulated to cause MS lesions may be food
December 19, 2018
The bacterial epsilon toxin has been proposed as a possible cause of new MS lesion formation. How people may be exposed to this toxin and the bacteria that produce it are unknown. To try and determine how humans may become colonized or infected with these types of bacteria, 216 food samples from New York City groceries were tested. Of the 216 samples, three were positive for the epsilon toxin-producing bacteria, suggesting that humans may be exposed to the bacteria by consuming contaminated...
The Association of Obesity and Brain Volume Loss in MS
December 12, 2018
Researchers at the Unversity of California, San Francisco, recently published results of their study examining the assocaition between obesity and Vitamin D status and brain volume on MRI. They choose brain volume loss measurement as this is an indication of neurodegeneration.469 patients with clinically isolated syndrome ( CIS) or relapsing remitting MS (RRMS) who were followed for 5 years participated this study.Previous sutdies have reported several environmental risks for MS, including ,...
Genes and the Protective Effect of Vit D in MS
December 5, 2018
MS is autoimmune and neurodegenerative disease of unknown etiology but has about a 25% genetic risk and multiple environmental risk factors. Since 2006 low vitamin D levels have been known to be one of the risk factors along with EBV infection, smoking and adolescent obesity.Vitamin D insufficiency is one of the most studied environmental risk factors. Interestingly there is correlation in Caucasians but not in Blacks or Hispanics, suggesting genetic interaction with this environmental risk. In...
