MS and Does MS Cause Sciatica

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Sciatica is pain from an injured or irritated sciatic nerve. This is the longest, thickest nerve in the body. It starts in your buttocks area and runs down your legs into your feet. People with sciatica have mild to severe pain along the path of the nerve.1

Many people have sciatica, including some people with multiple sclerosis (MS). About 40 percent of people in the United States have sciatica at some point in their life. People who feel this type of pain may wonder if they have sciatica or MS. Some may think their sciatica is a symptom of MS.1

Experts once believed sciatica and MS were unrelated. But new research suggests there may be some links between the two.2

Symptoms of sciatica

People experience sciatica in different ways. Common symptoms of sciatica include:1,3

  • Lower back pain, usually on one side of the body
  • Pain that travels down the leg, typically one leg at a time
  • Leg weakness
  • A burning feeling in the buttocks
  • A tingling or pricking feeling that goes along with the pain
  • Pain that gets worse with movement
  • Loss of movement

Several of these symptoms are also common in people with MS.4

Causes of MS pain versus sciatica

Both sciatica and MS can lead to pain. However, the main causes are different. This is because the 2 conditions involve different parts of the nervous system.1,5,6

Your body’s nervous system has 2 parts:7

  • Central nervous system CNS – Your CNS includes your brain and spinal cord.
  • Peripheral nervous system PNS – Your PNS is everything else. It includes nerves that travel from your spinal cord and brain to every other part of your body.

MS is considered a disease of the CNS. In people with MS, the immune system attacks the protective covering that surrounds nerve fibers in the brain, eyes, and spinal cord. This protective layer is called myelin. MS “short circuits” nerves that carry signals from the brain to the body.5,6

On the other hand, sciatica is not a disease of the immune system. The pain comes from direct pressure on the sciatic nerve, which is part of the PNS. Certain people are more likely to have sciatica than others. This includes those who have:1

  • Herniated or slipped discs
  • Diabetes
  • Physically demanding jobs
  • Osteoarthritis

Possible connections between sciatica and MS

For years, experts believed that MS affects only the CNS. However, some studies suggest that it also affects the PNS. For example, research has shown that people with MS have more damage to their sciatic nerves than those without the disease. This may mean the PNS is involved more often than experts once thought.2

More studies are needed to better understand how MS may impact the PNS, including the sciatic nerve. This could lead to new ways to diagnose and treat MS.2

Treatment for sciatica

Whether or not sciatica is related to MS, the condition can be painful. If you or a loved one has sciatica, speak to a doctor.

Fortunately, many people with sciatica get better with time and self-care. Treatment might include:1

  • Icing
  • Hot packs
  • Over-the-counter drugs like ibuprofen
  • Gentle stretching

If this does not provide relief, your doctor may recommend other options. They may include prescription drugs, physical therapy, and spinal injections. Surgery is not often needed. But your doctor might consider it if your symptoms do not improve within a year or so. Your care team can help you find the cause of sciatica and the best treatment.1

Reprinted from MS News Today

Spring & Summer Allergy Attack Season

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Spring & Summer Allergy Attack Season

It’s that time of year again, the spring and summer allergy sufferer’s season. A time when people start their day with an allergy pill to ward off the sniffling and sneezing that comes with the increased pollen from trees, weeds, and grasses. And you’re probably aware that little pill contains something called an antihistamine. But are you aware that antihistamines are diuretics?  Diuretics are compounds/drugs that cause the body to eliminate excess fluid from the body.  And when you add that on top of coffee, dark or green tea, and many sodas that also contain caffeine, which is also a diuretic, you can see where your body might have a hard time retaining enough fluid to maintain a healthy balance through the day.

      And there are some side effects that you need to be aware of while taking an antihistamine. If you also have dry skin, like I do, taking an allergy medication will most likely increase the itching and flaking of your dry skin. Your skin needs fluid to maintain its normal daily function as one of your organs. Another symptom that antihistamine/diuretic use can make much worse, is dry eye syndrome. If your body doesn’t have enough fluid your tear ducts may not be able to produce enough tears to keep your eyes moist during hot summer days. And swimming in chlorinated water can make that much worse as well. I used to hate the feeling of having something in my eyes like an eyelash that caused me to rub them all day long. That’s how it feels when your eyes aren’t producing enough tears.

     Don’t suffer through allergy season if you don’t have to. Drink plenty of fluids that don’t contain caffeine if you want to maintain a healthy balance of bodily fluids throughout these spring and summer days. And this hopefully should make allergy season just a little more tolerable.

Bill Walker Publisher

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Myrobalan wins grant to advance MS remyelination candidate MRO-002

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multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com/news-posts/2025/03/18/myrobalan-wins-grant-advance-ms-remyelination-candidate-mro-002/

March 18, 2025

Myrobalan Therapeutics has been awarded a grant of more than $850,000 from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to advance its new oral candidate MRO-002 for treating progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS).

The funding was made through the society’s Fast Forward program, which seeks to bridge the gap between preclinical and clinical development for new therapies and diagnostic tools that address disease progression and progressive forms of MS.

Myrobalan‘s experimental therapy MRO-002 is a GPR17 antagonist, or inhibitor, that’s designed to promote myelin repair in people with MS and other demyelinating conditions. With the grant, the company will conduct additional preclinical experiments to determine if it may have therapeutic benefits in progressive MS.

“We are excited to receive the Fast Forward grant from the National MS Society and appreciate their confidence in our drug development approach,” Jing Wang, PhD, CEO and co-founder of Myrobalan, said in a company press release. “We believe that MRO-002 has the potential to promote myelin repair in neurodegenerative diseases, demyelinating disorders, and conditions involving recovery from [central nervous system] injury.”

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March 10, 2025 News by Marisa Wexler, MS

Slowly expanding MS lesions linked to myelin damage in brain

Finding ways to aid myelin repair

In MS, the immune system mistakenly attacks the myelin sheath, a fatty coating around nerve cells. Like an insulator on electrical wires, myelin protects nerve fibers and ensures the efficient transmission of nerve signals. When it’s lost, patients experience a range of symptoms related to disrupted nerve signaling.

Myelin is produced by oligodendrocytes, specialized cells in the brain and spinal cord. While existing oligodendrocytes have some ability to repair damaged myelin or restore lost myelin, the remyelination process isn’t very efficient in MS due to ongoing inflammation. There’s also insufficient maturation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) into fully functional oligodendrocytes that are able to produce myelin.

A key challenge in MS treatment is the repair of damaged myelin. While available disease-modifying therapies help reduce relapses and slow disease progression, their ability to repair myelin and reverse disability is limited.

Finding therapies that can improve remyelination has been a longstanding goal in MS research. One promising approach involves targeting GPR17, a receptor in OPCs that prevents the cells from maturing into fully functional oligodendrocytes, thereby limiting myelin repair.

MRO-002 is a highly selective GPR17 antagonist that can cross the blood-brain barrier, the protective membrane that restricts the passage of most substances from the bloodstream into the brain. This ability lets it reach the brain and remove this brake from OPCs, causing them to mature and boosting the production of new myelin.

Preclinical studies on human-derived oligodendrocytes and animal models of demyelination have shown encouraging results. MRO-002 significantly boosted the maturation of oligodendrocytes in both models, resulting in enhanced remyelination in the brains of the animals.

With support from the National MS Society, the company hopes to conduct additional studies to support MRO-002’s development toward clinical trials.

“Having a therapy that promotes myelin repair would have tremendous implications for people living with MS,” said Walter Kostich, PhD, associate vice president of translational research at the National MS Society. “We are happy to support Myrobalan Therapeutics’ preclinical testing of MRO-002 and look forward to learning whether it has translational potential for people with MS.”

First published by: multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com/news-posts/2025/03/18/myrobalan-wins-grant-advance-ms-remyelination-candidate-mro-002/

March 18, 2025

REMYELIUNATION THERAPY TRIAL

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First clinical trial of remyelination therapy PTD802 cleared in the UK

Pheno Therapeutics’ candidate is inhibitor of GPR17 receptor

The U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has cleared Pheno Therapeutics to initiate a first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trial to test its oral candidate PTD802 in healthy volunteers.

The therapy is a selective small molecule antagonist, or inhibitor, of the GPR17 receptor and is designed to restore the damaged and lost myelin — a process known as remyelination — in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and potentially other demyelinating conditions.

“We are delighted to have received approval from the MHRA to progress our PTD802 program to a Phase 1 trial, a major milestone, marking our transition to a clinical stage organization. As the first company to carry out dosing of a selective GPR17 antagonist in healthy humans, we are leading the way in the race to develop GPR17-targeting remyelination therapeutics,” Fraser Murray, PhD, Pheno Therapeutics’ CEO, said in a company press release. “With this first-in-human program we are moving closer to our goal of delivering transformational drugs for the treatment of neurological diseases associated with demyelination.”

MS is caused by the immune system erroneously targeting myelin, a protective layer that surrounds nerve fibers and is important for nerve signals to be efficiently transmitted. As myelin is lost, nerve cells also become damaged and patients experience a range of symptoms related to impaired nerve signaling.

An ‘urgent need’ for remyelination therapies

The search for therapies that promote myelin repair has been a key focus in MS research for many years. There are a number of treatments that reduce inflammation and prevent or slow further damage, but none can reverse the damage that’s already occurred.

“Current treatments for MS focus mainly on the immune aspects of the disease, reducing severity and frequency of relapses. There is an urgent and unmet need for effective therapeutics that limit disability progression in MS, with remyelination offering a promising neuroprotective treatment,” said Siddharthan Chandran, MD, PhD, co-founder of Pheno Therapeutics.

The GPR17 receptor works like a natural brake that slows the development of oligodendrocytes, the cells that produce myelin in the brain and spinal cord. PTD802 is designed to boost remyelination by releasing this brake. Pheno believes it may be used with existing MS therapies to better control disease progression and possibly help patients regain some lost function.

“Whilst GPR17 antagonists have potential utility beyond MS, PTD802 is a hugely promising first-in-class oral remyelination agent, which we believe will be the next step in devising combinatorial approaches to preventing MS progression,” Chandran said.

by Patricia Inacio, PhD | January 21, 2025

Reposted from Multiple Sclerosis News Today

MS Mouth Ulcers and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate in Toothpaste

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As I grew up and into my adult life I always suffered from a breakdown of the skin on the inside of my mouth. It seemed like every two or three weeks just as the new skin inside my mouth seemed like it had healed it would suddenly break down again and begin to peel away. It was concerning but I didn’t have a clue why it was happening?

It wasn’t until I was well into my adult years that I read a small article about how some people are allergic to Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. And the fact that, it can kill skin cells inside your mouth, that it finally started to ring a bell about what was happening to me.

After learning this I decided to go online and do a bit of investigating. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate comes from coconut oil. In its purified form it’s used as a cleaner in many cleaning products that we all use everyday. And in it’s extreme purified form it’s used as an engine cleaner to cut through built up oil and grease in cars and trucks. That convinced me right there to stop using toothpaste with Sodium Lauryl Sulfate as an ingredient. And as soon as I did the breakdown of skin cells in my mouth stopped. But this also made me wonder, after all the years I had been using toothpaste with it in it, what other health risks could be involved with it?

We all swallow small amounts of toothpaste every time we brush. Which makes me wonder if people who develop throat cancer or stomach cancer or even ulcers may also be being poisoned by this additive to toothpaste? I find this very concerning!

Bill Walker

Turmeric, MS, and Alzheimer’s

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Turmeric Health Benefits 

In the first half, researcher Christian Wilde detailed the health benefits of the natural spice turmeric, and its use as a treatment or preventative for such ailments as Parkinson’s disease, MS, cancer, and Alzheimer’s. According to his research, there are some 650 to 700 conditions that could benefit from turmeric supplementation. For people concerned about fluoride in their water supply, turmeric has been found to neutralize toxins, he noted, as well as having antimicrobial, anti-bacterial, anti-oxidant, anti-viral, and anti-fungal properties. The neurodegenerative disease Parkinson’s involves the death of neurons in the brain, and patients have low levels of Vitamin D. Testing in Petri dishes has shown that neurons bathed in turmeric have 80% regrowth, and these results are being studied for further applications, he reported.

In China and India, the numbers for Alzheimer’s patients are much lower, which may relate to the fact that they have more turmeric in their diet, he indicated. A study from Vanderbilt University found that curcumin (the active ingredient in turmeric) “has demonstrated ability to enter the brain, bind to, and destroy the beta-amyloid plaques present in Alzheimer’s disease,” Wilde quoted from the paper. Turmeric has also shown some promise as a cancer preventative and remedy. Working with the MD Anderson Cancer Centers, biochemist Bharat Aggarwal has said ‘in 50 years of research, I have seen no cancer that has not benefited from turmeric.’ It’s well established, Wilde added, that turmeric kills cancer cells on contact but preserves healthy cells. Further, oncologists are now considering combining turmeric with chemotherapy treatments to enhance effectiveness.

Bacterial toxin epsilon in gut may be environmental driver of MS

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multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com/news-posts/2023/03/30/bacterial-toxin-epsilon-gut-may-be-environmental-driver-ms/March 30, 2023

Bacteria is shown under two magnifying glasses positioned side by side in opposite directions.

A bacterial toxin in the gut — specifically, the epsilon toxin produced by Clostridium perfringens bacteria in the intestinal tract — may be a key environmental driver of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a recent study.

After finding the toxin at a higher abundance in the fecal samples of MS patients compared with healthy people, scientists determined that epsilon was capable of producing MS symptoms in mice predisposed to the disease.

Indeed, according to Timothy Vartanian, MD, PhD, chief of the multiple sclerosis and neuro-immunology division in the department of neurology at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, “epsilon toxin functions at the very earliest stage of MS lesion formation.”

“A treatment that neutralizes epsilon toxin may halt our patients’ new disease activity, far more effectively than current treatment modalities that suppress or modulate the immune system,” Vartanian, also one of the study’s co-senior authors, said in a Weill Cornell press release, adding, “In the immediate term, we’re driven by a sense of urgency to get more effective and safer therapeutics to people with MS.”

The study, “Epsilon toxin-producing Clostridium perfringens colonize the MS gut and epsilon toxin overcomes immune privilege,” was published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

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An illustration of bacteria.

September 19, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS

Gut Bacteria Are Altered in MS, Linked to Disease Progression

Investigating the bacterial toxin epsilon in MS

The gut microbiome, comprised of the collection of microbes living in the intestinal tract, has been increasingly linked to MS in recent years. An imbalance of these microbes — called gut dysbiosis — is often observed in MS patients and has been associated with more severe disease in preclinical models.

For patients with an underlying genetic susceptibility to MS, it’s possible that changes in the gut microbiome could be the environmental trigger that prompts the disease to ultimately develop. Yet, the particular bacteria that might drive this association haven’t been uncovered, and have been a focus of recent research studies.

C. perfringens is a gut bacteria that humans are widely exposed to through pets and food sources. It releases epsilon toxin, known as ETX, a neurotoxin that targets the cells of the selective blood-brain-barrier (BBB).

The BBB works to prevent the passage of potentially harmful substances from the bloodstream into the brain. By targeting its cells, ETX reduces the integrity of that barrier, making it more like to leak substances it wouldn’t normally let through, like the immune cells that drive MS.

As such, having a higher abundance of ETX-producing C. perfringens in the gut might be an environmental MS trigger, according to the U.S.-based research team.

While other studies of the human microbiome failed to find this link, it is possible previous techniques weren’t sensitive enough to detect the toxin-producing bacteria, they noted.

“Previous studies would use a method where you could see the bacterial species that are there, but you couldn’t actually see the toxin or some of the more functionally relevant parts of the species,” said Christopher Mason, PhD, a professor and co-director of the WorldQuaint Initiative for Quantitative Prediction at Weill Cornell, and one of the study’s co-senior authors.

Now, the team examined fecal samples from MS patients and healthy people using more sensitive DNA detection techniques.

Doing so, they found that MS patients were significantly more likely to carry ETX-producing C. perfringens than their healthy counterparts — and at a greater abundance.

Recommended Reading

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November 23, 2022 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD

Climate Change Risk to MS Patients: Worse Symptoms, More Relapses

Clinical trials needed to examine ETX in MS patients

The researchers next turned to a preclinical model in which the immune system of mice is modified to make them predisposed to MS, but the animals only develop symptoms if they are also treated with a toxin called pertussis — which also targets the BBB and allows immune cells to infiltrate the brain.

When the scientists swapped out pertussis for ETX, they found that the toxin induced clinical signs of disease and led to demyelination in the brain and spinal cord that was more widespread than when pertussis was used, better matching the lesion distribution normally seen in MS patients.

Demyelination, a progressive loss of the substance (myelin) that surrounds and protects nerve cells, is the hallmark of MS.

ETX led to the infiltration of immune cells that normally remain in circulation and don’t enter the brain unless the BBB is compromised. It also induced the activity of genes involved in BBB dysfunction.

According to co-author Gregory F. Sonnenberg, PhD, also of Weill Cornell, the study “advances a more relevant model to study MS,” but also “defines a new microbial-derived determinant,” that could inform MS development.

There are many mysteries to MS. … Clostridium perfringens and epsilon toxin may explain many of these mysteries.

In addition to a role for ETX at MS onset, it also could be involved throughout the disease course.

ETX is produced episodically when C. perfringens is in a phase of high growth. Those episodes might correlate with periods of disease activity in relapsing-remitting MS, the researchers noted.

“There are many mysteries to MS,” Vartanian said. “Clostridium perfringens and epsilon toxin may explain many of these mysteries.

MS and the Holy Grail of MS Neural Repair

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Bill Walker

MS and the Holy Grail of MS Neural Repair

A couple of days ago I got the latest edition of MS Focus Magazine. I found two paragraphs that brought me renewed hope for an effective treatment for MS. They are reprinted below.

Medicine & Research:

Of a slightly different mechanism than the previously mentioned monoclonal antibodies, temelimab targets a specific protein that is believed to have a role in the development of MS. MS is caused in part by increased inflammation in the central nervous system, and the intended mechanism of action for temelimab would be to relieve this inflammation to prevent progression. The medication should work to help fix the damage to the myelin sheath that occurs in MS.

By Ellen Whipple, Pharm.D.

Life with MS:

The Holy Grail of MS care is neural repair. By repairing areas of damaged myelin and axons or rerouting information around areas of damage, the hope is that we may be able to reverse disability. Numerous research projects around the world are focusing on this. It could be that the answer to reversing disability ends up coming from a non-MS field, such as spinal cord injury. Currently, phase II studies are ongoing with a molecule I’m excited about, elezanumab. If this monoclonal antibody does what we hope it will, it should regenerate axons in the brain and spinal cord.

By Dr. Ben Thrower, M.D.

It is this second paragraph that excites me the most. If it works, you would still have MS. But the chances are you wouldn’t experience any, or at least not as sever, symptoms as many of us currently suffer from. There is hope on the horizon!

MS Muscle Spacticity and a Soft Mattress

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Hey that’s me!

MS Muscle Spacticity and a Soft Mattress

Multiple Sclerosis is a disease of many symptoms and no two people are the same. However many of us who suffer from this horrible condition experience muscle spacticity where are muscles tighten up from lack of use.

In my case I mostly feel these effects first thing in the morning as I’m waking up and getting out of bed. Fortunately I have found a few things that seem to help with this condition. The first one my doctor prescribed and that’s cyclobenzaprine 5 mg as needed. It works pretty well and also has the extra benefit of helping me sleep. The drawback is that it helps me sleep to well sometimes making it hard to wake up when I want or have too. And I don’t like taking a lot of pills either.

The second thing I’ve found that helps is a very soft mattress. I have about six inches of egg crate foam mattresses on top of my regular mattress. This seems to work pretty well for me as I can mostly sleep through the night without getting up to stretch. I was also told that I could try a memory foam mattress that would achieve the same purpose. The draw back with memory foam is that it reflects heat back into your body even more so than egg crates. And we all know that heat is an enemy of multiple sclerosis.

And if you also occasionally get charlie horses where your muscles tighten up into what feels like a very painful ball I suggest drinking a cup of tonic water everyday. This little piece of advice came from an old golfer I met a few years ago. And it also might help with spacticity as the quinine helps to loosen up overexerted muscles. He told me that lots of athletes drink tonic water just for that reason. And if you decide to add a shot of vodka or gin and a lime to it, that might help your muscles relax as well? In moderation of course and only when you don’t have to drive anywhere.

Peace to all of my ms and beyond readers!

Bill Walker

Don’t Let Back Pain Disrupt Your Sleep

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Girl stretching on mat

Picture by: Pixabay

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t Let Back Pain Disrupt Your Sleep

After a long day and an aching back, nothing sounds better than falling into bed and drifting off to sleep. Unfortunately, if you are a back pain sufferer, sleep might not provide the sweet relief you are looking for. The pain continues, you can’t get comfortable, and it ends up being a painful night of tossing and turning. While there isn’t a cure for your back pain, there are a few ways to take some of the pressure off so that you can escape to dreamland.

Strengthen Your Core

When pain is involved, exercise is likely the last thing you want to do, but strengthening your core could help alleviate some of that pain. According to physical therapist Sean Kinsman, “When the muscles that surround and help stabilize the spine aren’t strong enough to properly function, other structures have to pick up the slack,” which results in stress on your back and the resulting pain. A strong core can take the pressure off and give you some relief. There are several easy exercises you can perform from the comfort of home such as the bird dog, dead bug, or seated hip switches. You might also try some gentle stretching before bed as well to loosen up tight muscles and relax both your mind and body.

Eat Right for Healthy Joints

Have you ever stopped and truly thought about how important food is to your overall health? The food you put in your body has a direct impact on every system in your body, including bone and joint health. Some foods in particular rise above the others as far as their ability to promote healthy joints. Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and kale help your bones absorb calcium. Broccoli even takes its superpowers a step further with sulforaphane, a bio-active compound that can help prevent joint pain. Other super foods to add to your diet include ginger, bone broth, and fruits that are rich in vitamin C such as pineapples, strawberries, and mangoes.

Change Your Sleep Position

We all have that one sleep position in which we feel the most comfortable, but there are a few changes you can make to reduce pain. Side sleepers should keep knees bent, put a pillow between their legs to align their spine, and switch sides periodically. If you are a back sleeper, put a pillow under your knees and a rolled-up towel under the small of your back to mimic your back’s natural curve. Sleeping on your stomach isn’t recommended due to its lack of support, but if you must, put a pillow under your abdomen and try going without the head pillow to avoid straining your neck.

Shop for a New Mattress and Pillow

Both your mattress and your pillow could be exacerbating your pain rather than relieving it. The proper mattress for ultimate spinal support will be the perfect firmness (medium-firm), which can be achieved with memory foam, latex foam, or an innerspring. All options conform to your body’s natural shape, so it comes down to a matter of comfort, preference, and budget. When you shop around for a new mattress, make sure you try it out on each side as well as your back, and ask about the return policy.

You might also consider investing in a new pillow that helps align your spine, support your head and neck, and reduce pressure points. Back and stomach sleepers will benefit from a thin pillow with a little lift at the bottom to support the head. Side sleeps should opt for a firm pillow with a gusset to add thickness. No matter what you choose, don’t let your purchases go to waste by getting out of bed the wrong way and twisting your back. Instead of popping out of bed and risking even more pain, roll on your side and push yourself up.

Millions of people have back pain, and as one of them, you know the effects it has on your sleep. Don’t lie there in pain. Instead of just reading the above tips, put them into action today!

by,

Cheryl Conklin