Overview

A neurodegenerative disease.

Please see conventional, complimentary and alternative medical treatments for important background information regarding the different types of medical treatments discussed on this page. Naturopathic, Complimentary and Alternative treatments that may be considered include:

Etiology

The exact cause of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and other demyelinating diseases is unknown, but there appears to be an autoimmune component to the disease process, which may be related to leaky gut syndrome and dysbiosis. There is also anecdotal evidence suggesting that treatment of coexisting hypothyroid and adrenal deficiency can arrest the progression of multiple sclerosis [Starr2005, pg 154].

Diagnosis

Differential Diagnosis

Generally speaking, insurance companies are more likely to reimburse for treatment of underlying organic disorders than they are for autoimmune diseases themselves, as evidence-based medicine has not yet documented pharmacological treatments for the disease processes responsible for initiating and maintaining the manifestation as an autoimmune disease. Hence it is particularly important to identify and document any underlying organic disorders that may be associated with or cause demyelization. Consider the following: Note however that insurance companies are reluctant to pay for the tests required to diagnose some of these underlying organic disorders, because a direct linkage between demyelinating diseases and these disorders has not yet been established to the satisfaction of the insurance companies.

Treatment

Naturopathic, Complimentary and Alternative Treatments

  • Treat dysbiosis with appropriate antifungal or antibiotic agents, as indicated by the Organic Acid Test.
  • Reduce the risk of recurrent dysbiosis by adding probiotics and prebiotics to diet and by controlling intake of simple carbohydrates (sugars etc.) that feed yeast.
  • Diagnose and treat any underlying inborn errors of metabolism, using vitamins, minerals, and dietary protocols as appropriate.
  • Implement other dietary modifications based on food sensitivities.
  • Reduce exposure to environmental toxins and detoxify the body.

Immune System Balancing

[McCulley2018, pp 28, 35, 61, 89, pp 287-312] reports that multiple sclerosis is a TH1-dominant, localized, autoimmune disorder, with additional involvement of TH2, TH17, and Treg cell types. The author proposes a different approach to treating this disease, which should be supervised by a properly trained medical professional.

Dr. Weyrich has considerable interest in this topic, but has not treated any cases of multiple sclerosis with Immune System Balancing.

Please see What is Immune System Balancing? for more information.

Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN)

According to the Low Dose Naltrexone home page [LDN], MS is a neurodegenerative disease that is associated with autoimmune processes. LDN has been seen to benefit MS [Gironi2008], [Cree2010]. [LDN], [LDN_MS] reports that all except 2 of the almost 400 patients with MS who were treated by the late Dr. Bihari [Bihari2003] using LDN "experienced a halt in progression of their illness, and "a majority ... note[d] reductions in spasticity and fatigue." This same experience has been reproduced by other practitioners treating well over 2000 MS patients, and holds for both relapsing-remitting and chronic progressive MS. [EverydayHealth_naltrexone] presents a number of patient reviews of LDN, many of which pertain to MS.

Dr. Weyrich has been trained in the use of Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN). However, Dr. Weyrich has not treated any cases of MS with LDN.

Please see What is Low Dose Naltrexone? for more information.

Neurotransmitter Balancing

Neuro Research [Hinz2015] reports that MS can be benefited by balancing neurotransmitter levels in the body.

Dr. Weyrich has been trained in neurotransmitter balancing protocols, but has not treated MS using this technique.

Please see What is Neurotransmitter Balancing? for more information.

Hypotheses

Arabinose

It is not clear whether elevated urinary levels of arabinose detected in by the Organic Acid Test are simply a marker for yeast dysbiosis, or are pathogenic in their own right.

It has been hypothesized that arabinose, being an aldol (reducing) sugar which contains an aldehyde functional group, may contribute to pathology by reacting with the terminal ammonia group of the amino acid lysine, which is found in many proteins of the body, to form a pentosidine, which may further react with an arginine in an adjoining protein strand to form a pentosidine link [Shaw2008, pg 36]. The pentosidine link alters the structure and function of the affected proteins, which may be enzymes.

Dr. Weyrich notes that this is similar to the mechanisms underlying protein glycosylation, which is measured by the HbA1c test [Sell1989]. Both protein glycosylation and formation of pentosidine links are associated with aging - once these links are formed, they persist until the cell they are associated with dies and is replaced. Note that neurons are not replaced when they die. The concentration of pentosidines has been reported to increase linearly with age [Sell1989].

Elevated urine arabinose has also been found in an autistic child in whom a brain MRI showed diffuse demyelization [Shaw2008].

References