Is Smoking Linked to Multiple Sclerosis?
A new study by Dr. Alberto Ascherio and his colleagues at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston has found that smoking may be linked to a quicker progression of Multiple Sclerosis. The study was published in the Archives of Neurology, a medical journal published by the American Medical Association on a monthly basis. The researchers found that the disease is quicker to get worse if the patient smokes.
Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic disease that attacks the brain, optic nerves and spinal cord – the central nervous system. Mild symptoms include numbness in the limbs, but severe symptoms can include loss of vision or paralysis.
The study included almost 900 patients, with 72 patients progressing and relapsing-remitting. Twenty of the patients were smokers, 20 were ex-smokers and 32 of 500 had never smoked in their lives. Smokers were over 2 times (2.4 to be exact) more likely to have primary progressive Multiple Sclerosis than non-smokers and smokers with relapsing-remitting of Multiple Sclerosis were two and half times more likely to develop secondary progressive Multiple Sclerosis.
The researchers also followed over 1,400 MS patients for three years, with nearly 18 percent of those patients being smokers. They found that smokers had more severe disease, more brain atrophy, more injured brain tissue, and more disability.
The researchers aren’t clear on what determines this increase of progression, but they are guessing that the toxic smoke could affect the nervous system and that the immune system could be weakened as well. They did notice that those who currently smoked experienced the most adverse effects, which makes them wonder if quitting smoking could slow the progression down and help. In the end, they decided their findings suggested that quitting smoking may delay progression of Multiple Sclerosis and reduce their risk of related diseases.
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Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic disease that attacks the brain, optic nerves and spinal cord – the central nervous system. Mild symptoms include numbness in the limbs, but severe symptoms can include loss of vision or paralysis.
The study included almost 900 patients, with 72 patients progressing and relapsing-remitting. Twenty of the patients were smokers, 20 were ex-smokers and 32 of 500 had never smoked in their lives. Smokers were over 2 times (2.4 to be exact) more likely to have primary progressive Multiple Sclerosis than non-smokers and smokers with relapsing-remitting of Multiple Sclerosis were two and half times more likely to develop secondary progressive Multiple Sclerosis.
The researchers also followed over 1,400 MS patients for three years, with nearly 18 percent of those patients being smokers. They found that smokers had more severe disease, more brain atrophy, more injured brain tissue, and more disability.
The researchers aren’t clear on what determines this increase of progression, but they are guessing that the toxic smoke could affect the nervous system and that the immune system could be weakened as well. They did notice that those who currently smoked experienced the most adverse effects, which makes them wonder if quitting smoking could slow the progression down and help. In the end, they decided their findings suggested that quitting smoking may delay progression of Multiple Sclerosis and reduce their risk of related diseases.
Return to:
Other Posts
Social security disability and hepatitis
Social Security Disability and Liver Disease
Social Security Disability and Schizophrenia
Social security disability and new medical records
If I Win My Disability Benefits, When Do Benefits Start?
How to Claim Disability Benefits
Qualifying for disability on the first application
Social Security Disability and to Qualify for Benefits
How likely would I be to qualify for social security disability benefits?
Labels: multiple sclerosis
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