Microglia – why we need embryonic stem cells research…

I am hereby posting a link to a very interesting article published on Medical News Today on October 25th 2010..

I believe it to be interesting as this particular research may pave a way for being able to prevent MS before we’re even born….

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/205648.php

Hopefully you’ll find it as interesting as I have : )

Cheers!

Pregnancy -> MS in remission..

Finally, a discovery about the relation of pregnancy and remission in MS…

Today’s article on Medical News Today (see under “Links”) describes how researches discovered a biological mechanism responsible for changes in the immune system which helps explain the remission that pregnant women with MS go through.

According to researchers, the expression of an enzyme known as pyruvate kinase is reduced in immune cells in pregnant women compared to non-pregnant women. The study is significant because the newly discovered mechanism points to a pathway that could be targeted for treatment. Indeed, researchers said that “it may be possible to design drugs that mildly suppress pyruvate kinase activity as a means of replicating the immune status of normal pregnancy”.

For more information on the research visit the Medical News Today link to the right ; )

Does Childbirth Slow MS…?

Pregnancy & MS… a rather interesting notion.. there have been many reports on the fact that pregnant women with MS have no ‘attacks’ during… that is to say, they go into a state of remission while pregnant.. It is amazing how the body ‘naturally’ reacts to protecting both the child and mother during pregnancy.

On this note… on Nov. 24th 2009, a Belgian study was reported as suggesting that giving birth actually slows the progression of MS. In the study it was found that women who had given birth to one or more children at any point in time before or after the start of symptoms were 34% less likely to progress in disability than childless women.

Despite some of the study’s drawbacks (you can read more on these by clicking on Medical News Today under ‘links’) it can be argued that it is a stepping stone for further research aimed at discovering the relation between disease progression & pregnancy…

Regarding pregnancy & MS… I’d like to add that it is also known that postpartum women with MS experience their worst relapses thus far.. : (

More good news on pregnancy & MS

Medical News Today 19.11.2009:

Reassuring results for pregnant women with MS or those considering to get pregnant…

A new study shows that pregnant women with multiple sclerosis are only slightly more likely to have cesarean deliveries and babies with a poor prenatal growth rate than women who do not have MS.

Plus, the women with MS were no more likely to have other pregnancy problems, such as preeclampsia and other high blood pressure problems and premature rupture of membranes, than women in the general population.

The study is published in the November 18, 2009, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

You can read more on the details of the study also under the Medical News Today link to the right.