Q: My daughter, who is 33 years old, has suffered from multiple sclerosis for several years. She does receive some treatment in the form of injections that help prevent more deterioration in her muscles. I was reading about a new experimental treatment involving goats. Can you give me some more information about this therapy?
A: Multiple sclerosis is the most common chronic disease of the central nervous system that affects young adults. It is thought to be more common in countries that have cooler climates.
An acquaintance of mine who was a teacher was trying goat’s milk to help her MS. Eventually, she gave up teaching and went into full-time goat farming. She ate goats’ meat as well as drinking the milk. She went into full remission and never looked back. She swore it was due to the goats, but I always wondered if it was perhaps giving up her stressful day job.
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There is now some experimental evidence to back up these findings. Dr. David Barnes of St. Georges Hospital in London, England, led a team of doctors in a research project that involved injecting purified serum from goats that had been previously treated to produce certain antibodies. These are known as polyclonal antibodies, which were the goats’ immune response to being vaccinated with a number of different proteins.
Angus Dalgliesh, from the same hospital, had originally been working on this serum to develop a drug for the treatment of AIDS/HIV, but it did not work well enough to justify further research in this area. Instead, the researchers thought it might be useful in cases of MS.
There are now three trials under way, and the first results should be published in a few months. So far, of the 130 patients in the study, 85 percent have reported major improvements in their condition. Some have reported regaining lost vision, while others have started walking again without canes. There did not appear to be any side effects.
This does sound almost miraculous, but don’t forget that multiple sclerosis is an illness that involves relapses and remissions. It can be difficult to prove whether the improvements in illness were due to coincidental spontaneous remission or were a result of the goat serum.
Low thyroid levels
Q: At a recent routine checkup, my doctor found that I have borderline low thyroid levels in my blood. He does not believe it is necessary to treat this as I have no obvious symptoms. Do you agree?
A: I agree with your doctor. People with what is known as subclinical thyroid disease do not generally require any treatment.
Only five percent of cases will go on to develop actual hypothyroidism. Theexceptions are pregnant women or their unborn children, who may need treatmentif their TSH levels are slightly raised.
You should get a blood test for the thyroid once a year, but you need to discuss this with your doctor.
Subclinical overactive thyroid disease, or hyperthyroidism, is more likely to require treatment, as there is a risk of osteoporosis or heart disease if it is not treated, especially in those who are older than 60.
Clare Rowson is a medical doctor with a practice near Belleville, Ont. Her columns are intended for general information only. Individuals are encouraged to also seek the advice of their own doctor regarding medical questions and treatments.
