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!
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.
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 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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
I need to start by saying that I am not advocating that anyone do what I did and, in fact, still do. I’m only telling you my story of what I did quite frequently especially early on in my first initial attacks. And yes, it did and still does, help quite a bit if my pain becomes too intense.
My first major attack was downright brutal. My legs locked up to the point where I was walking like I was standing on stilts. And my feet burned made even worse by the
hundreds of needle like pricks that I felt with every step I took. But the worst pain was in my sciatic nerves running up and down both my right and left legs. And it didn’t take long for this nearly intolerable pain to move up into my lower back making every bend and twist an agonizing experience.
And it wasn’t long after these first symptoms that my MS moved into my hands causing my fingers to curl up to the point where I could barely get my hand to open. And finally came the flashing in my eyes and the dizzy spells that more than once sent me to my knees on the floor.
And these were just the physical symptoms. I also had to deal with the fear of being attacked by something that even my doctor was totally perplexed about. Oh, and did I mention that I was between jobs and had absolutely no insurance at the time?
In the beginning my doctor put me on 800 mg of Ibuprofen every six hours. And I’m sure the fact that did absolutely nothing won’t come as a surprise to any of you who also have multiple sclerosis. And since I didn’t have insurance and couldn’t really afford to see a neurologist right away I was left with only one solution that I felt might bring some relief. I went to a hardware store and purchased several of the blue icy packs that you freeze and put into coolers to keep food and drinks cold when traveling or going camping.
As soon as they were frozen I started laying on them with one or two of them positioned along my lower back for literally hours at a time. And thankfully it started to relieve my pain almost immediately. And then after a few days I noticed that both my legs and my hands began to loosen up to the point where I could stand and walk almost normally again and stretch my fingers to their fullest extension.
I kept this up for weeks as the attack slowly subsided overall. At one point I had my spinal column so cold I could feel my nervous system rattle inside my body. This was a very strange experience because I could feel my nerves buzzing inside my brain.
Fortunately after my initial attack I have never had one that severe again but I still used ice for years after this whenever I had an exacerbation with intense pain. And every time I did it my pain subsided to a point where it was at least tolerable. And I still do this though not anywhere near as much as I used too.
The surprising thing about this over all of these years, is that none of my neurologists have ever said not to do this, though they’ve never really said that it was a great idea either. The two things that I will add here is that it’s cheap and it’s drug free which you can’t say about most other MS treatments on the market!
By Bill Walker
REQUEST FOR SPECIAL PET STORIES
I’m requesting stories from any and all of you who have ever had a pet die and than return in any way to let you know that they survived death and came back to ease your fears about their crossing. I think I’m going to write a book about pets surviving death as I have had like at least three of my pets return after death to comfort me after their transition.
What I would like for you to do is to first write the experience you had out in long hand and put it down for a day, or a little while, and then type it out and send it to me at the email address below. If and when I write the book I will certainly let everyone know especially if their story made it into the book. This is kind of a nonscientific study that I am undertaking so I would love to hear from you all if you’ve got a story to tell. The reason for having you write it out twice is that usually after you write something once and wait a little bit your mind starts to recall the experience and you often remember more than you did in your first draft. And I want the stories to be as in-depth as they possibly can be.
Please send your stories to: wc.walker@yahoo.com
Thank you in advance. And please ask around family and friends to see if they have stories to contribute. Please put, Pets surviving Death, in the subject box!
The 2018 Olympics are now just about over and it appears that Germany will come in second or third with the total medal count at these winter games. In the overall scheme of things that isn’t all that surprising. However, one reason that the German trainers are attributing this too is kind of a surprise.
We all know that Germany is considered the beer capital of the world. But it appears that it is not just the work ethic of the German Olympic team that is helping them on to victory. German trainers and the teams Olympic Doctors are also attributing the team’s success to non-alcoholic beer.
It should come as a no brainer that drinking regular alcoholic beer isn’t the best way to train for the Olympics so trainers a few years back started letting their athletes drink non-alcoholic beer while training instead of forcing them to be completely beer free.
Over a short period of time the trainers and doctors began to notice that their athletes were recovering from injuries in a far shorter period of time than they had previously. And of course this made everyone wonder why?
Through a process of elimination they began to suspect that maybe it had something to do with the non-alcoholic beer that these Olympians were now drinking so they decided to study it. And low and behold they discovered that the reason these athletes were recovering so quickly was because non-alcoholic beer has a powerful anti-inflammatory effect throughout the body. Which naturally accelerated the body’s ability to heal after most injuries.
In the article I read they did not specify what exactly it was in non-alcoholic beer that was responsible, nor did this article say whether regular beer also has this same effect. But really, who cares.
So don’t feel bad if you have the urge to go grab a six pack of non-alcoholic beer and let lose.
Dr. Metcalfe, who is based at Cambridge University in England, is currently looking for funding to further develop her theory that using a stem cell particle called a LIF would switch off the body’s auto-immune cells and help repair the brain.
In addition to being able to switch off the body’s autoimmune response, LIF also protects the brain and spinal cord — the areas affected by multiple sclerosis — and aids in repairing tissue, including brain tissue.
The research has not been smooth sailing. Metcalfe has found that LIF cannot survive outside the cell for more than 20 minutes before being broken down by the body, making it difficult to use as a therapy. However, she has found that nanoparticles could be the answer to the problem, as they can be used to help deliver the LIF therapy. By using antibodies with the nanoparticles, the therapy can be directed to certain areas of the brain — helping to repair damage caused by multiple sclerosis.
Metcalfe is now looking for research funding and hopes that one of the big pharmaceutical companies will step in. She hopes to begin clinical trials of the therapy by 2020.
A study has found that microbes in your gut may influence the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). It could be a key step towards specific treatment, and help solve what causes MS.
Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, two different teams conducted separate research and made the same findings. One was from the University of California, San Francisco, and the other from the Max Planck Institute in Germany.
The first team investigated the gut microbiomes of 71 MS patients and 71 control subjects. They identified specific species of bacteria that were more common in the former than the latter. Next, they exposed these bacteria to human immune cells, and found that two species triggered cells to become pro-inflammatory. One found at lower levels triggered immune responses.
In tests on mice, they found that these bacteria had a similar effect. Replacing mice microbiomes with those from an MS patient caused the mice to lose immune-regulatory cells and develop neurodegeneration, a pathway to MS.
The second study came to a similar conclusion, finding that microbiome transplants could increase symptoms in mice.
“Two different groups, using two separate cohorts of patients and controls, and two distinct mouse models of the disease, saw very similar results,” Egle Cekanaviciute said in a statement, who was involved in both studies. “This is very promising evidence that we’re on the right track.”
MS affects about 2.5 million people across the globe, and is known as an autoimmune neurodegenerative disorder. It can lead to loss of vision, weakness, and even paralysis. It’s caused by the immune system attacking the insulation around nerve cells, called myelin, but scientists have been at a loss to explain why this occurs.
These latest studies could provide an answer. While the microbiome probably isn’t the only trigger, it could play a role. This could lead to some new treatments in the future to help tackle MS.
“The microbiome is very malleable,” said Sergio Baranzini, also involved in both studies. “You could relatively easily change it in an adult who has MS or is susceptible – something you cannot do with their genetics. This is not a magical approach, but it is hopeful.”
Multiple Sclerosis And Beyond 