| MSM can be used
in conjunction with cortisone, the standard medication, or alone.
By itself it improves joint, skin, and vascular symptoms. Patients
taking MSM for lupus disease symptoms
experience results at least as good as from taking cortisone, but
without the side effects associated with the drug.
MSM doesn't cure systemic lupus
erythematosus any more than cortisone does, but it is an effective
treatment for lupus disease due in large part to its
anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating actions.
Several dozen patients with lupus have
been treated with overall good results. Almost three-quarters of
them have benefited.
A promising role for MSM in
auto-immune diseases was demonstrated by an animal study conducted
at the Oregon Health Sciences University's Department of Arthritis
and Rheumatic Diseases in 1986.
The experiment involved mice prone to
autoimmune proliferative diseases resembling leukemia and lymphoma
in humans.
Because of their susceptibility, the
life span of these rodents is five and a half months. They develop
anemia, lupuslike kidney disease, and enlargements of lymph nodes,
spleen, and thymus.
In the study, one group of mice was
provided either DMSO or MSM in their daily drinking water while
the other group was maintained on normal water.
After thirty-nine weeks, all of the
nonsupplemented animals were dead. At forty-six weeks, nearly 80
percent of the supplemented mice were still living.
On average, DMSO and MSM nearly
doubled the lifespan of the animals to ten months.
The supplemented mice remained healthy
and vigorous throughout their lives, observed researchers Jane
Morton and Benjamin Siegel.
The animals showed significant
reduction of anemia and the typical enlargements of lymph nodes
and spleen.
Moreover, there were no signs of
toxicity even on high doses of MSM - the equivalent of 6 to 8
grams per kilogram of body weight daily. By comparison, an adult
human might take a total of 6 to 8 grams a day.
"We have found DMSO and DMSOZ
(MSM) to be virtually identical in their ability to diminish the
severity of these disorders," Morton and Siegel reported in
the journal Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology
and Medicine.
It is conceivable that DMSO2, which is
the major metabolite of DMSO in the body, "may be the
biologically effective molecule in these reactions," they
added. The precise mechanism for this protective role is
yet unclear. The researchers suggested that MSM might alter the role of antibodies and other
immune system elements as well as the activity of certain
immune-regulating molecules such as prostaglandins.
In a follow-up study with laboratory
rodents using the same model, DMSO and MSM were again found to
extend life span as well as reduce the severity of anemia and
kidney damage and lessen the degree of spleen enlargement.
In this second study, some of the animals
were started on DMSO and MSM when they were seven months old and
their underlying terminal disease process was well underway. Even
under these circumstances, their lives were extended
substantially.
Morton and Siegel found a significant
reduction in certain antibodies that react with DNA and cause
kidney damage. "Although we are not sure about the mechanism
of action, DMSO and MSM may act by decreasing inflammatory
responses and the production of autoantibodies and immune
complexes," they concluded, recommending further
studies.
Systemic lupus in humans is a destructive disease. It typically
damages kidneys, and many people with the condition require kidney
transplants.
When MSM is taken as a supplement for lupus, patients
demonstrate improved kidney function.
It is interesting to note that in the
animal studies the researchers found that DMSO and MSM generated
similar positive results for lupus symptoms.
Since people
generally won't take DMSO for a long period of time because of the
odor, the potential use of MSM as a long-term adjunct to treatment
is well worth exploring for anyone with lupus.
Reprinted with permission from Dr Stanley
W. Jacob, M.D
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