Folks with HIV get MS less frequently than average folks.
Scientists from the Albion Centre at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney, Australia have found that patients with HIV are 62% less likely to develop MS, compared with control patients. It doesn’t end there, though — it appears that the longer someone has been diagnosed with HIV, the lower their risk of MS. This finding has scientists excited about the possibility of treating MS with antiretroviral therapy that is currently in use for patients with HIV.
There are a few reasons that people with HIV might be more resistant to developing MS. The first is pretty obvious: HIV destroys your immune system. Your immune system can’t very well get on with the job of destroying your nervous system if it’s being eradicated. Suppression of the immune system is one of the primary functions of many current treatments for MS, such as Gilenya and Tecfidera.
The second reason is less obvious. There is a theory out there that multiple sclerosis may be triggered by infectious or viral agents, such as the Epstein-Barr virus or herpesvirus 6. If this theory is accurate, it completely makes sense that antiretroviral therapy would have a positive effect on the course of the disease.
Watch out for Osteoperosis!
Also in MS news today is the finding that folks with MS end up with osteoperosis more frequently than folks who don’t have MS. This makes sense, since both diseases share risk factors (age, history, family history, race, gender, inactivity, low vitamin D levels, smoking), and steroid treatments for MS negatively affect bone density.
What can you do, if you have MS, to help avoid osteoperosis? Increase calcium and vitamin D intake, avoid smoking and excessive alcohol intake, and regularly exercise.
And now, time for some Awesome.
Three Great Things About Yesterday
- Had 4 seizures while on the treadmill at the gym – kept walking through all of them. Adam said, when he caught me at #4 (The others were simple partial facial seizures.) that he thought it was hilarious that I was still walking. I just kept thinking over and over again “Just keep going.” Well, sometimes you can’t… but having someone there to catch you is great.
- Got to wear my new, pretty, purple cross-trainers. Yay for shoes that make me smile!
- Sushi for lunch.
The chirps slay me!