Iron in the Brain or the Immune System

September 17, 2009 at 9:36am

Many disease modifying treatments use the reduction of immune activated lesions as shown on MRI as proof a treatment is "working" in MS. This has baffled me, since we know that the number of lesions does not correlate to level of disease progression. Someone like my husband can have 20 brain lesions and function quite well. Someone else can have one or two lesions and be wheelchair-bound. Also, at a certain point, lesion progression stops when MS turns progressive. There must be another mechanism of injury, along with the immune system, at work in the MS brain.

In Bologna, Dr. Mark Haacke addressed another means of measuring brain tissue injury in MS. Susceptibility Weighted MRI. What SWI MRI shows us, is that iron deposited in the brain is a bio marker for MS progression.

What is different in SWI-MRI, according to Dr. Haacke, is that brain damage shown due to iron deposition actually CORRESPONDS to disability in MS.

The more iron deposed in the brain, the more disability, the more progressive MS is. This is different than the usual measuring of hyperintense lesions on MRI, which have no specific correlation to disease severity.

Here's the rub:
Pharma companies use the lesions shown on MRI as "proof" that their particular drug is working. Look! We've reduced hyperintensities on MRI! Our amaze-a-bub is slowing MS! Stock prices go up, investors are happy, and MS patients continue to decline.

If we look at the TRUE cause of disability- the only measurement in the brain that correlates to disability is iron deposition and brain atrophy.

This is why my husband had 20 lesions at his diagnosis and could mountain bike, and someone with one lesion is in a wheelchair. It's not just about the white matter lesions.

If we understand that the macrophages and immune system are activated as janitors to clean up the cellular death in the brain, we understand that the lesions we see on standard MRI may be secondary--just as they are a stroke patient, or someone with an ischemic brain ijury.

Thank goodness for Dr. Haacke, and other scientists who are speaking out.  It is not simply about the lesions on MRI. We will be told it is, because we can be sold drugs that halt these lesions---but that has not stopped MS progression.  There is no drug to stop reflux, iron deposition and hypoxic injury in the brain, and this is why it has not been explored since TJ Putnam in the 1940s, and will be fought.

Notes from CCSVI conference, 

Bologna, Italy --September 8, 2009

September 9, 2009 at 7:37pm

Notes from the CCSVI presentation
September 8, 2009


Dr. Ellliot Frohman, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Neurology, Dallas, Texas and Robert Zivadinov, Jacobs Neurological Institute, Buffalo, NY are chairs for the morning session:

Dr. Frohman makes the introduction. CCSVI is removed from how we think about MS or any other immune mediated diseases. Could other diseases we currently classify as autoimmune be related to venous disease? Autoimmune diseases share in common molecular adhesion molecules. Perhaps Crohn’s could be venous? Validating CCSVI in MS may affect the classification of other autoimmune disorders. This venous model has been overlooked.

Micrographs, histopath proficles, periventricular cuffs, red cells we see in post capillary venules. This is not new. In 1863 -before Charcot.- G.E. Rindfleisch writes of venous congestion in MS.

Could the immune system go anywhere blood goes? Is this why there is an inappropriate immune response? He notes the large crowd in the room (it’s packed) and says he hopes people will speak out. (they will!)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dr. Paolo Zamboni- Universita degli Studi di Ferrara, Italy director of vascular studies

The drama of CCSVI and MS is that of severe stenosis of the extracranial pathways. Everyone in this room can return home and establish a cooperation between vascular and neurology departments. A simple demonstration - he shows a video demonstration of doppler protocol to aid diagnosis. There is a blocked outflow of blood.

In the normal control groups, there is a monodirectional flow of blood. In MS the periventricular vein has a bidirectional flow. Substitute circles avoid intracranial hypertension. Mean transit time is increased.

Dr. Zamboni proposes a “Menu” for the day-

1. Entree- what is the origin of venous stenosis?
2. Pasta- May we assess consequences of CCSVI in the brain. Perhaps microbleeding is the source of lesions.  Just like CVI in other parts of the body- there is microcirculation
Cerebral spinal fluid ultrafiltration and reabsorption depends on transmural pressure.
TMP = IVP-EVP
In venography, there is much higher pressure in MS patients then controls.
Histology- research cited:
-red blood cell extravastion during relapse
-fibrin cuffs in venous hypertension
-iron laden macrophages
are ALL found in MS patients.

3. Main Course- Is CCSVI treatable?
measuring pressure before and after Liberation procedure is significantly changed.

4. Dessert- What are the effects of CCSVI treatment?

and for Today’s Special---Chronic fatigue as a symptom of CCSVI
(you have to love the Italians and their food analogies.)

Endothelial Health Program

August 26, 2009 at 7:51am

Here is the original program I wrote up for Jeff in 2008 and shared on ThisIsMS.  This was before we'd read Dr. Zamboni's research.  I sent it to Dr. John Cooke at Stanford University. Dr. Cooke's endothelial research and his book, The Cardiovascular Cure, were highly inspirational to me, and I wanted to get his thoughts on MS as a disease of endothelial dysfunction.  It is suggested for healthy vascular living for MS patients.  I knew that there was a connection between Jeff's hypercoagulated blood, high liver enzymes, c-reactive protein, petechiae and inflammation--and thought maybe the program might help others with MS.

There is a shortened version hosted on the CCSVI Alliance site-

http://www.ccsvi.org/index.php/helping-myself/endothelial-health

For those who want to read more, here's the full paper:

Overwhelmed:

Reversing Endothelial Dysfunction 

By Joan Beal

I am not a doctor. Not even close. I took chemistry in high school, but I didnʼt like my teacher and chatted my way through labs. That was the end of my science career. I majored in music in college, and have spent my adult life pursuing the creative arts. Although math and science were never to be my forté, I do enjoy puzzles. I cannot walk away from an unfinished Sudoku, and much to my husbandʼs frustration, I always shout out “I know who did it!” before the first act of a mystery is completed. I guess Iʼm a “big picture” gal- I like to step back and find the connections between seemingly disparate things. You could also call me a “holistic” person, because I enjoy finding commonalities and patterns. Just like the nine digits in the Sudoku box.

Multiple Sclerosis is not a puzzle I was prepared for. By the time my husband finally went to the doctor, after a month of my pleading and cajoling, he was really sick. He was numb on his left side and his feet were burning. He went in for an MRI and the technician added the contrast dye to his veins. We knew he was in trouble.   When we went to meet with the neurologist, I noticed under the harsh fluorescent lights his skin had a jaundiced pallor. And what were those strange red dots up and down his shins? I hadnʼt seen him in shorts recently...what were those?

His neurologist said that had nothing to do with his illness. He had multiple sclerosis.  It was an autoimmune disease. My husbandʼs t- cells were attacking the myelin on his brain and spine, and he had 20 cerebral lesions to show for it. His blood labs had come back with some irregularities;  he had extremely high liver enzymes, high coagulation numbers and high c-reactive protein,  and once again the neuro said, “But that has nothing to do with his MS.” She recommended a disease modifying treatment- a daily shot called glatiramer acetate or Copaxone,  to retrain his t-cells- She also gave us a list of some nutritional supplements that she said “might help”, and sent us on our way.

I was incredulous. How could my healthy husband one day just wake up with an immune system in attack mode? And why werenʼt things like those spots (Iʼd later learn they were called petechiae) and his liver enzymes and jaundice related to this new illness?

So I went to work deciphering this new code. I read medical journals on line, and the more I read, the more questions I had. Because MS is incurable and no one really knows what causes it, it is open to more theories and less concrete evidence than almost any other disease. And it can be a variable illness, causing disability and paralysis in some, while remaining relatively benign in others. It has been almost two years since my husbandʼs diagnosis, and he is still stable and in remission from his first flare. We thank God everyday for his health and ability to carry on with his life.   Jeff has radically changed his diet, maintains a healthy weight through exercise, and takes supplements. He has also worked on lessening the stress in his life and finding ways to deal with neuropathic pain and fatigue, the nasty reminders of his disease. He is fortunate, and he is determined. But we realize that nothing is guaranteed.

I am not writing about curing MS. I do not believe I have the abilities or knowledge to cure anyone. I am only addressing ways to minimize the affects of disease and to help people feel better and perhaps remain in remission. For now, my husbandʼs MS is not progressing, but I do not know how to stop his MS for good. Right now, it appears that only God can do that. Let me be clear, I am also not about blaming people for becoming sick. There is a genetic component to each of these diseases that no one would ever ask for or bring upon themselves. The reasons why people develop specific diseases goes beyond my limited understanding. But there is hope and relief through lessening the external factors which contribute to disease.

24 million Americans suffer from some form of autoimmune disease. These diseases, in which the immune system appears to turn on the self, include diabetes, MS, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus. The number of afflicted is growing at an astounding rate. I believe all autoimmune diseases are related. Inflammation, vascular problems, coagulation issues, neuropathic pain and suffering are common to each affliction, although the specific area that is affected is different. In MS, itʼs a breech in the blood brain barrier of the central nervous system. In rheumatoid arthritis, itʼs the joints. If we step back far enough from the names of individual diseases and all the various specialists who treat them, we can begin to see the big picture; and I believe it all begins inside each and every one of us with our blood.