MS (multiple sclerosis) is not a illness that FoodsMatter deals with regularly, although we do have an article pending suggesting that diet can be really helpful in managing the condition. But I do have a very old friend who has had it for over 50 years – so I tend to prick up my ears whenever MS is mentioned.
I was, therefore, intersted in a brief email from our worm guru, John Scott, yesterday:
‘If you know anyone with MS, you might like to tell them that the Nottingham Hookworms for MS trial has finally got underway – 3 years after it was first mentioned online! But better late than never, and, this time, they’re using 25 worms instead of 10, and leaving them in place for (I think) 9 months, which should deliver some benefits to those who are assigned to the experimental arm of the trial. The University is recruiting now and if you are interested you should log in here.
Those of us ‘citizen scientists’ who are running ahead of the formal trials know that at least 150 hookworms are likely to be required in many cases to deliver full remission, but Professor Pritchard and his team have to live with their Ethics Committee…
If you do know anyone with MS, there is an interesting post on the AutoImmune therapies blog on the treatment of MS with worms.’
Lyn has just emailed us as follows:
I worked as an MS specialist physio for 5 years, so also have an interest, and consequently did my dissertation on MS when I qualified as a Medical Herbalist. Your latest blog post reminded of an utterly amazing article and video about a physician, Terry Wahls, who radically changed her MS with diet. I thought you might be interested, if you haven’t seen this already? This is a link to a video presentation about her or you could take a look at her site at http://www.terrywahls.com.
Oh Lyn, I was just about to say the same thing! My mother had late onset MS, and I would so like to have had this information before she died in 2005. She did try a gluten free anti Candida diet for a while, but his full-on paleo diet a la Weston A Price was not possible in her nursing home. But maybe I would have pushed heaven and earth to make it happen, with the inspiration from Terry Wahls, who had MS much worse than my mother, before she recovered her mobility and alleviated most of her symptoms.