New Drugs for Multiple Sclerosis

After decades of basic research on Multiple Sclerosis, the past five years have brought a rapid rollout of new and sophisticated drugs that are changing how this disease is managed and offering patients new hope.Two of these news drugs are Tysabri and Ampyra.

"We have a disease that's gone from having no treatments 20 years ago to having multiple treatment options," said Dr Timothy Coetzee, the chief research officer at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. "There is a growing recognition that MS is becoming a manageable disease." In MS, the body's immune system damages neurons in the brain and spinal cord, attacking the myelin sheath that insulates these nerves. About 85 percent of patients start out with what is called relapsing-remitting MS, charaterized by flare ups or attacks that cause lesions to form on the brain and that affect the ability to walk, to see and to control the bladder, among other neurolical impairments.

These attacks are short lived, and patients typically recover from them. But more than half of patients eventually develop a progressive form of MS, causing the permanent loss of these functions. Doctors can now choose from eight disease modifying drugs, which relapses and thereby slow the progression of the disease. Some of the drugs also prevent brain neurons from dying off, now thought to be a major cause of permanent disability. There have also been advances in treating specific symptoms of MS. Within the past two years, three medicines have been approved specifically for MS symptoms: Ampyra to improve walking, Nuedexta for uncontrollable laughing or crying, and botox for urinary incontinence and spasticity in upper limbs.

"We're shooting for disease free status, where someone with MS is on a medicine and has not sign of MS," said Dr. Richard Rudick, director of the Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis Treatment and Research at the Cleveland Clinic. The first generation of MS drugs included mostly immune suppressing interferons delivered via injection or infusion. These are still the most widely used, reducing relapses by about one third. The new drugs are more sophisticated, targeting specific molecules involved in the disease, rather than simply tamping down the immune system to reduce inflammation in the brain.

Wonderful Health Benefits of the Lowly Potato

The potato is the second most consumed food in the United States, trailing only milk products. The average American eats 120 pounds of potatoes a year. That is 365 per person; or a potato a day. Potatoes are an important food staple and the number one vegetable crop in the world. Potatoes are available year round as they are harvested somewhere every month of the year.

The potato belongs to the Solanaceae or nightshade family whose other members include tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and tomatillos. They are the swollen portion of the underground stem which is called a tuber and is designed to provide food for the green leafy portion of the plant. If allowed to flower and fruit, the potato plant will bear an inedible fruit resembling a tomato.

Potatoes are a very popular food source. Unfortunately, most people eat potatoes in the form of greasy French fries and potato chips, and even baked potatoes are typically loaded down with fats such as butter, sour cream, melted cheese and bacon bits. Such treatment can make even baked potatoes a potenial contributor to a heart attack. But take away the extra fat and deep frying, and the baked potato is an exceptionally healthful low calorie, high fiber food that offers significant protection against cardiovascular disease and cancer. Potatoes are a good source of vitamin B6, vitamin C, copper, potassium, manganese, and dietary fiber. They also contain a variety of phytonutrients that have antioxidant activity. Among these important health promoting compounds are carotenoids, flavonoids, and caffeic acid, as well an unique tuber storage proteins, such as patain, which exhibit activity against free radicals. A new analytical method developed by Agricultural Research Serice plant geneticist, Roy Navarre, has identified 60 different kinds of phytochemicals and vitamins in the skins and flesh of 100 wild and commerically grown potatoes. Analysis of Red and Norkotah potatoes revealed that these potatoes phenolic content rivals that of broccoli, spinach and Brussels sprouts, and includes flavonoids with protective activity against cardiovascular disease, respiratory problems and certain cancers. Navarre's team also identified potatoes with high levels of vitamin C, folic acid, quercetin and kukoamines. UK scientists at the Institute for Food Research have identified blood pressure lowering compounds called kukoamines in potatoes. They also contain high amounts of vitamin B6. About a cup contains 21 per cent of the daily requirement of this important vitamin. Vitamin B6 is involved in more than 100 enzymatic reactions. Enzymes are proteins that help chemical reactions take place, so vitamin B6 is active virtually everywhere in the body. Many of the building blocks of protein, amino acids, require B6 for their systhesis, as do the nucleic acids used in the creation of our DNA. Because amino and nucleic acids are such critical parts of new cell formation, vitamin B6 is essential for the formation of virtually all new cells in the body. Heme (the protein center of our red blood cells) and phospholipids (cell membrane components that enable messaging between cells) also depend on vitamin B6 for their creation. A single baked potato will also provide you with 11.7 per cent of the daily value for fiber, but remember the fiber in potatoes is mostly in their skin. If you want the cholesterol lowering, colon cancer preventing, and bowel supportive effects of fiber, be sure to eat the potato's flavorful skin as well as its creamy center.

Take the Wrong kind of Vitamin D Increases Death Rate by 2 Percent!

When the sun strikes you skin, vitamin D3 is produced by your body. This is the best source of Vitamin D3. The second best source of Vitamin D3 is to take supplements. Drisdol and Calcitriol are synthetic forms of vitamin D2; the form of vitamin D typically prescribed by doctors. But, this is NOT the type produced by your body in response to sun or safe tanning bed exposure. A recent meta analysis by the Cochrane Databae looked at mortality rates for people who supplemented their diets with vitamin D2 versus those who did so with vitamin D3, the form naturally produced by your body. The analysis of 50 randomized controlled trials, which included a total of 94,000 participants, showed: a six percent relative risk REDUCTION among those who used vitamin D3, but, a two percent relative risk INCREASE among those who used Vitamin D2.

Research shows vitgamin D3 is approximnately 87 percent more potent in raising and maintaining vitamin D concentrations and produces two to three fold greater storage of vitamin D than does vitamin D2. Vitamin D3 is also converted into its active form 500 percent faster.

Optimizing you vitamin D levels may be one of the most important steps you can take in support of your long term health. The ideal way to do this is by exposing large amounts of skin to sunlight or a safe tanning bed, but if you need to use an oral supplement, make sure you are taking Vitamin D3. The most important factor is your vitamin D serum level, which should ideally be between 50-70 ng/ml. When taking an oral vitamin D3 supplement, you should take enought to reach and maintain this therapeutic level. As a generic guideline, adults need to take about 8,000 international units (IU's) a day to reach this level. Optimizing your vitamin D levels may be one of the most important steps you can take in support of your long term health. There is overwhelming evidence that vitamin D is a key player in your overall health. This is understandable when you consider that is is not just a vitamin; it is actually a neuroregulator steroidal hormone that influences nearly 3,000 different genes in your body. Receptors that respond to the vitamin have been found in almost every type of human cell, from your brain to your bones. Just one example of an important gene that vitamin D regulates is your ability to fight infections, as well as chronic inflammation. it produces over 200 antimicrobial peptides, the most important of which is cathelicidin, a naturally occurring broad spectrum antibiotic. THIS IS ONE REASON WHY VITAMIN D3 CAN BE SO EFFECTIVE AGAINST COLDS AND INFLUENZA. The widespread vitamin D deficiency seen today is thought to be an important reason for many chronic diseases.