Thanks for the info J.T. It's weird that you mention alcohol and cigarettes. Me and my friends were always known as the "partiers" in school and out. So I've had my share of fun, I guess you could say. The night before my first exacerbation mentioned above, I drank about a twelve pack and took about 7 or 8 shots of Jagermeister, with little sleep to back it up. The doc said that's probably what triggered it. And every time I smoke a cigarette, the lightheadedness gets a little worse for a couple of minutes. Just one more reason to quit! I have always been active in Martial Arts, exercised regularly, but my sleep pattern and my diet need to change. As I add this new medication into my life, I will definately take the time to make some other changes for the better. The way you live your life can truly change the way this illness progresses. Thanks again!

John McIntire

John,

This was on the BBC Science webpages today (21 January):

Scientists have successfully replaced brain cells damaged by multiple sclerosis (MS), raising hopes of an effective new treatment for the disease.
At present, the technique has only been tested in mice, but it is hoped the same principle can eventually be applied to humans.

A team from St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney replaced the damaged brain cells with immature 'stem' cells taken from the bone marrow of both mice and humans.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic and progressive illness that affects the body's nerves and can render a person disabled.

Myelin coating

The disease progresses as a patient loses a type of nerve cell known as an oligodendrocyte, which helps electrical currents to travel around the nervous system by producing the protective myelin sheath that coats the nerves.

As more and more cells are lost, the myelin sheath is damaged, resulting in faulty transmission of nervous signals.

The two-year study used 25 mice to model the effects of multiple sclerosis. Adult stem cells from mice and humans were injected into the mice, five, 10 and 20 days after being isolated from bone marrow.

Signs of oligodendrocyte growth were found in between half and three-quarters of the experiments.

The next step is to determine whether the newly formed brain cells were functional and capable of producing myelin.

Effective therapies

Professor Bruce Brew, St Vincent's director of neurology and neurosciences, said: "While we are still some years away from a human application, the fact that we are able to use adult stem cells in this way is extremely important in the development of effective therapies against a variety of brain diseases."

He said there was no guarantee that the treatment could completely reverse symptoms of MS.

But he said there was a "good likelihood" that it could have some positive impact.

Professor Brew said doctors may eventally be able to isolate stem cells from a patient's bone marrow, manipulate them and reinject them to hone in on the damaged area for repairs.

However, the research is based on the principle that stem cells will develop in response to signals generated by brain disease.

Professor Brew said the longer a person suffered from a brain disease, the weaker the signals became and the less likely that the stem cells would differentiate into the required cell.

Good Luck, Scott.

Wow! Thanks Scott, the info is truly appreciated! It amazes me the medical strides that are made everyday.

John McIntire

I realize this may be a bit late, considering your initial post was nearly a year ago (oops, got the dates wrong, I was looking at your reg date!), but I just wanted to let you know that my mother was diagnosed with MS over 20 years ago. My mom is a nurse and my father was a doctor, and I can tell you that sometimes knowing a lot about medicine only makes it more frustrating that no one really know what causes MS, or how to cure it.

The long and short is, it's usually diagnosed in the 20's or 30's, no one knows if it's in any way hereditary, and it will get worse--for some people the progression is slow, for others it's quicker.

My best advice--make sure you get *lots* of exercise to keep up your muscular strength and flexibility. It will really help, not only physically, but mentally.

My mother is now 56 years old (34 when diagnosed, I was 12--now I'm 34 and crossing my fingers! I recently had a scare with tingling in my leg that lasted a couple of weeks, and I couldn't move my toes--turned out it was probably nerve compression from sitting in a crappy chair in front of my computer, but sometimes I wonder...), and she's still copingpretty well, although she is unable to stand or walk for long periods. She still works, though in a less stressful job for the county health dept. rather than as a nurse in a busy hospital.

Keep a strong body, and a healthy attitude, and you'll be much better off. I can tell you the corticosteriods really suck, but then, so do most medicines. We learn more about MS every year--hopefully by the time you reach 56, we'll have beat it once and for all.