Monday, March 08, 2010

Welcome to What I Hope Will Be One of the Last MS Awareness Weeks

  
It's MS Awareness Week. No need for cards or flowers. I'm not exactly celebrating either. Won't it be nice when there is a cure for MS and there is no need for a week of awareness for an illness with a vaccine, effective treatment, and a cure? I mean, you don't see polio or TB awareness week, do you? In the meantime, though. I thought I'd mark the week with daily posts to my blog.  Let's see if I can stick to it. If not, I can always blame the MS, right? If you can't blame the MS, well then, I want to trade it in for something I can blame. :-)
 So, day one of my MS Awareness Week posts is going to be pretty lame, I think. I came across a few MS-related news items that I thought I'd share:
  • This BBC News article tells the story of a vascular surgeon who has discovered a link between MS and the vascular system. I wonder how and where I can have the blood flow in my jugular vein tested...? And does it hurt?
  • A new study shows evidence that women with MS who are described as highly fit perform better on cognitive function tests. More of a reason not to skip the workouts.
  • This Science Daily story reports of a link between Epstein-Barr virus and MS. I never had Epstein-Barr. Did you?
  • Researchers at The Catholic University in Rome has found further evidence supporting the autoimmune hypothesis that supposes that a viral or bacterial pathogen similar to specific molecules of the central nervous system causes an inflammation which provokes a reaction of the immune system. This reaction ends up destroying the brain cells.
  • Click here to download the MS Society's Research Now Spring 2010 issue to read about investigating ion channels for MS, high-tech research in MS, and hope on the horizon for people with progressive MS.

1 comment:

  1. 1) If you can get to SUNY - Buffalo they're getting people together to do neck scannings.

    3) Epstein-Barr is the virus that causes mononucleosis. I never had mono, but I was certainly exposed to it, as my sister and probably half a dozen friends had it.

    All tolled, I think that MS is a cascading set of failures:

    Low vitamin D in childhood + neck vein problems + EB virus + genetic predisposition = MS

    That's why I'm not holding out for a cure, but holding out for treatment that will allow me to keep whatever remains of my life, and maybe improve.

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