THIS DEALS WITH SOCIEOECONOMIC FACTORS
03/19/2007
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS GENETIC
CRITERIA
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Major stressful events as well as small daily hassles cause new brain lesions two months later.
MS is famous for its spontaneous remissions without any therapies and charlatans take advantage of this anomaly.
No special diet or addition of vitamins or minerals has been proven to alter the course of MS.
Fatty oils have an immunosuppressive properties but studies show conflicting results.
Creatine (amino acid) may help MS, weight gain was noted and a larger study is required. The theory is that creatine-phosphate stores chemical energy in muscles.
GENDER ISSUES
Because MS is twice as common in women as men, its been suggested that
hormonal factors predispose
women to develop MS. This theory hasn't been confirmed. Women however
do not have more severe MS than men. No one has been able to prove
conclusively that there significantly more women than men with MS. Most
researcher conclude there are more women than men suffering from autoimmune
diseases. The researchers found
that symptoms of MS in pregnant women were reduced during the second and
third
trimesters — a time when a woman's body contains high levels of estrogen.
Research studies on scleroderma an autoimmune disease that effects three times more woman than men suggests one hypothesis to explain this discrepancy. Stray cells from fetuses are transferred into a woman's body during pregnancy and can remain for decades. The transfers goes both ways, cells from the mother's body enter the developing fetus. Most women have cells from their mother and their children. It is speculated that when these cell relate in precisely the wrong way it increases the risk of autoimmune disease.
A study of Barrhead Alberta and surrounding area with an MS rate of 196/100,000 population has an equal number of women to men with MS.
Women are almost twice as likely to develop MS as men; it is difficult to prove that more women than men have MS. Women go to doctors more than men. Men tend to ignore the symptoms whereas women do not. Most researchers believe that women face a much higher risk of developing autoimmune diseases such as MS and Lupas. They speculate it may be linked to hormones that may modulate susceptibility.
Women however do not have more severe MS than men.
In Switzerland 73% of MS cases are women.
MS is twice as common in women compared to men. Other studies suggest the ratio is 1.4 to 1.
Most are diagnosed between the ages of 30 and 50
MS seldom strikes people under the age of 15 or over the age of 50
Men's brain ages (shrinks) faster than women's in the areas of thinking, planning, memory and integration of sensory information as a result of MRI studies.
LIFE STYLE CRITERIA
Major stressful events as well as small daily hassles cause new brain lesions two months later.
MS is famous for its spontaneous remissions
No special diet or addition of vitamins or minerals has been proven to alter the course of MS. Vitamin D-3 called hormonal D-3 is believed by some to help MS.
Fatty oils have an immunosuppressive properties but studies show conflicting results.
Creatine (amino acid) may help MS, weight gain was noted and a larger study is required. The theory is that creatine-phosphate stores chemical energy in muscles.
September 1999, a Portugal physical rehabilitation study concluded no change in physical impairment but improvement in mental well-being.
COST OF MS
Canadian study results:
Mild MS – $15.5K/yr
Med MS – $21.7K/yr
Severe MS - $37K/yr 74-88% of severe MS cost is paid by patient
Lifetime cost is estimated at 1.6 million
QUALITY OF LIFE
One surprise of the study was that the quality of life does not decrease
as the disease progresses. It is speculated that this is the result
of the quality of care and the adaptability of the patients and caregivers.
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