The Effects of Natural Products on Multiple Sclerosis Disease

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease of the Central Nervous System (CNS) that is characterized by intermittent damage to myelin caused by the destruction of oligodendrocytes. It is the major cause of non-traumatic disability in young adults with considerable social impact and economic consequences. Worldwide, MS may affect 2.5 million individuals. Approximately 400,000 Americans acknowledge having MS and every week about 200 new cases of MS are diagnosed. Naturopaths use both a broad range and multiple complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies for treating MS and report treatment effectiveness on the following outcomes: quality of life; symptom severity; relapse rates; and disease progression. The Human body is part of nature and keeping it in rhythm with nature by taking natural products (NP) ensures a strong system. There are some putative NP in MS treatment like Asperlicin, fungal metabolites Lovastatin and Ciclosporin, Botulinum toxin type A, Sativex, herbal medicine such as St. John's wort, valerian, cranberry, ginkgo biloba, cannabis [1], curcuma and ginger [2]. Echinacea, Astragalus, Asian ginseng, Siberian ginseng, and Garlic are used as immune stimulating herbs. Bee venom therapy [3], traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda and Homeopathy [4] are alternative therapies for MS [5]. The treatments of MS are expensive and associate with uncomfortable side effects that place a burden on patients [6]. One of the important role of the National Health Service is providing health services including an appropriate treatment (less expensive with slight side effects) and NP can be suitable choice. References: [1] Bowling AC, et al. (2003) Int J MS Care 2(3). [2] Shishodia S, et al. (2005) Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1056: 206–17. [3] Mirshafiey A (2007) Neuropharmacology 53(3): 353–361. [4] Whitmarsh TE (2003) Complementary Therapies in Nursing and Midwifery 9(1): 5–9. [5] Stuifbergen AK, Harrison TC (2003) Rehabilitation Nursing 28(5). [6] Phillips C, (2004) CNS Drugs 18(9): 561–74.