Swiss Bee-Keepers Hold Key to MS Vaccine
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 | Author: admin
Investigators: David Wraith and Hartmut Wekerle
by John Bonner
Swiss bee-keepers are the unlikely source of evidence to suggest that a proposed new treatment for multiple sclerosis will work, said immunologist David Wraith from the University of Bristol.
Wraith’s team has been investigating ways of blocking the specific T cells that react to proteins of the protective myelin sheath surrounding nerve cells. The T cells produce inflammatory cytokines that mediate destruction of the protective sheath.
He has been using synthetic peptides based on fragments of myelin protein to induce tolerance and stop the disastrous autoimmune response.
The approach has been successful in a laboratory model for human MS, experimental allergic encephalomyelitis. Repeated exposure to the peptides switches off the Th1 pathway, which generates T cells that produce tumor necrosis factor and other cytokines implicated in the inflammatory response in MS patients.
Treated mice express a different T-cell population, known as Th0, which produces the protective cytokine IL-10. This blocks any further autoimmune degeneration by preventing antigen-presenting cells from activating new Th1 cells.
The peptides are squirted up the nostrils rather than given as an intravenous vaccine. This makes use of the mucosal immune response designed to prevent damaging inflammatory reactions to harmless antigens in the air and (in the gut mucosa) in food.
“Most autoimmune diseases are inflammatory responses, and so we are tapping into the machinery which has been specially designed to dampen down the inflammatory process,” Wraith told BioMedNet News.
Even antigens that are otherwise harmful can be tolerated when presented to the immune system via the mucosal surface. Scientists in the mid-19th century described how Native Americans had devised a way of preventing skin reactions to poison ivy by regularly eating the plant’s leaves, Wraith says.
But, Wraith needed evidence that the beneficial changes induced by the vaccine in mice could also be generated in humans. “It is all very well having an animal model. But before we could think of trying this approach on patients, we needed evidence that people could produce the same type of T cells that generate the protective IL-10 response seen in mice.”
That evidence came from a study of beekeepers in Switzerland, which showed that regular exposure to bee stings switches off allergic reactions - the bee-keeper’s blood samples were rich in IL 10.
Wraith has an agreement in principle from the UK medicines licensing authority to begin trials in MS patients. These are likely to begin within the next year, after completing the necessary preclinical safety tests. Patients will probably receive a primary course of repeated weekly doses followed by monthly booster doses. He expects those patients in the early stages of the disease to benefit most.
Current treatments for MS do little more than treat the symptoms of the disease.
Even the controversial beta interferon therapy works only in some patients and then only slows the progress of the disease. “We hope that we can shut the gate - this is the only treatment that gets to the heart of the process that causes the disease,” he said.
Bio Med Net News July 27th, 2001
Dr. Mercola’s Comments:
MS is one tough illness to reverse. But if one gives careful attention to the eating plan and implements some of the treatments discussed below should help to resolve the underlying issues contributing to the problem.
Elimination of milk and dairy is critical. Studies have shown that cow’s milk consumption is correlated with MS prevalence (Neuroepidemiology 1992;11:304-12, Neuroepidemiology 1993;12:15-27).
Additionally one should always consider heavy metal toxicity when addressing MS.
NST is one of the more important aspects of a successful treatment strategy for neurological diseases like MS. NST can help by restoring balance to the autonomic nervous system with a secondary improvement in the immune system.
This certainly has been my experience with rheumatoid arthritis.
Dr. Klinghardt, who was not interviewed for this article, also has a considerable amount of clinical experience with MS and has found bee venom therapy to be helpful. There is a link to the protocol below for Lyme Disease which is identical to the MS protocol.
My comment in that article also has a phone number where professionals can order the bee venom.
Other useful measures include:
1. Vitamin D Deficiency - MS much more common in individuals with lower vitamin D levels and in countries where people get less sunlight exposure. A previous article in the newsletter showed a positive effect of sunlight exposure on MS. Maybe correcting a vitamin D deficiency can halt progression?
2. Calcium AEP - Although I don’t know of any good studies on it, the late Dr. Nieper in Germany used it extensively in his clinic and Dr. Robert Atkins in New York City claims that 85% of his patients get positive results from it. Although there is an oral form available, most physicians use an IV administration. I have not tried it yet but might enter a clinical investigation with it in the near future.
3. Electromagnetic Stimulation of the Pineal Gland - There is a Dr. Reuven Sandyk in the NYC area who uses AC pulsed electromagnetic fields to stimulate the pineal gland and he seems to get some very good results, although the treatment is very expensive and must be done long-term. Due to the prohibitively expensive equipment, Dr. Sandyk’s clinic is probably the only place to receive this treatment.
4. Alpha Lipoic Acid - A study from the Netherlands showed that Lipoic acid is a non-specific scavenger of Reactive Oxygen Species and decreased the phagocytosis of myelin by macrophages. Free radicals appear to play a regulatory role in the destruction of myelin (Journal of Neuroimmunology 1998 Dec 1;92:67-75)
5. Progesterone - Progesterone has actually been shown in animal studies to promote the formation of new myelin sheaths (Human Reproduction 2000 Jun;15 Suppl 1:1-13, J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 1999 Apr-Jun;69:97-107, Mult Scler 1997 Apr;3:105-12). I am not aware of any clinicians using progesterone the treat MS patients, but if any of my readers have any additional information on this, please e-mail me.
Category: Better Living, Diet & Nutrition, Health, Western Medicine | Leave a Comment
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However, I have major disagreements with the study’s recommended treatment–Avonex. Someone please help me understand why ANYONE would use a drug that costs $1,200 per month–yes, you heard me correctly, $1,200 per month–and in no way, shape or form treats the cause of the disease. (If you are thinking corporate drug company greed that sure sounds right to me.)
You will be able to see the flaws with this recommendation yourself by reading the following story of one patient with MS who came to see me. Like nearly all severe chronic disease cases I see, his event started shortly after a severe emotional trauma occurred in his life. When he came in I had him stop the Avonex immediately, as I don’t believe that there is any indications at all to ever use this drug. He followed a raw-food, metabolically appropriate, diet and received plenty of energetic emotional treatment. Over the next few weeks 10 of his 12 initial symptoms all but disappeared and the remaining two improved. He said he hadn’t felt so good in years.
If he had waited a few more years and came in a wheel chair, I suspect it may not have been possible to obtain the same results. At some point the damage does become irreversible. Prior to my application of nutritional typing and effective emotional interventions, it was uncommon to see these types of improvements with MS, but now I am really shocked if we don’t see them. Fortunately, I am seeing these types of improvements quite regularly now in the MS patients we are treating.
For more information on MS treatments please see the related links after the story below.
By Matt Bolson
Woodridge, IL
“I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) on May 1, 1999 and was put on Avonex [an Interferon beta drug]. The drug cost me $1,200 a month and for the over two years I was on it my symptoms continued to get worse and I had fevers and many other drug side effects.
I realized that I needed to find out how to get some positive results and then I came across an article in Dr. Mercola’s newsletter, which I’d been reading for about two years, called “MS Drugs a Waste of Money“. I really wanted
to get off the drugs so I made an appointment to see Dr. Mercola.
I’ll never forget Dr. Mercola’s response when I asked ‘When can I go off the drugs?’ He asked me what time it was, and I said ‘It’s 2:00.’ He replied, ‘Well, how about right now?’
After I saw Dr. Mercola and stopped taking the drugs, it took about one and a half to two months of following his program before I began feeling better. I had been following a low-fat diet, which is what is typically recommended for MS, but found out that this was conflicting with my nutritional type, which turned out to be protein type.
I began eating dark meat chicken and red meat, which I love but hadn’t eaten in almost three years, and raw coconut and avocados. I’d never thought to eat raw coconut or avocados before, but now they’re just about my favorite foods on the program.
I also began to eat raw meat–bison and beef–and noticed an immediate change in how I felt. I also juice, mostly spinach and celery, almost daily.
When I started the program I was in the middle of an exacerbation and was feeling weak and numb, but soon I began to feel better. I used to get nerve and spine pain, searing head pain and fevers and now it’s all gone.
But there were two major factors that I learned at The Optimal Wellness Center, aside from the dietary changes, that really made a profound difference in my recovery. First, I had to learn that I didn’t have MS, I had
symptoms associated with it. Next, I had to believe that I could overcome this disease, even though that goes against everything you hear in mainstream media.
I did EFT with Linda, an EFT therapist, and that really helped me to accept these two truths. Learning and believing these two factors was imperative to my recovery. I was also able to see my progress each month with the live blood cell analysis from Jordan. Being able to see my blood on the screen and actually see it improve was the coolest thing I’d ever seen!
I’d also suffered from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) for my entire life, but when I changed my diet my stomach repaired itself almost immediately. Now I continue to improve, feel great and am completely off the MS drugs. Dr. Mercola’s program has really made a difference for me.”