In
support of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research:
Never
give up!
Monday, February 6, 2017
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Grief, Self-preservation and Multiple Sclerosis:
January 17, 2017
by
Grief
can weaken our immune system, elevate our blood pressure, and affect our
overall health. During a loss, especially one of the magnitude of a loved
one, self-preservation is not always a top priority. For those of us with
multiple sclerosis, the mental anguish that is grief can exacerbate our
already compromised condition. It is important not to lose awareness of
ourselves during this overwhelming time. Grieving is an unavoidable, yet natural
and necessary, way to help us heal mentally and emotionally. It is,
however, not a place to reside.
Staying
in an extended state of bereavement can be detrimental to your overall health
and to your mental well-being. Everything I have read on this subject stresses
that, at some point, you need to move forward. While still honoring,
remembering and cherishing the memories of the deceased, you also need to
remember yourself.
There
comes a time to consider grief counseling, doctors’ advice, eating and sleeping
correctly, and making yourself the main priority. That time should come sooner,
rather than later, during the grieving process.
After
my mother’s death in 1995, I was heartbroken and my grief carried on for years.
It then snowballed when it overlapped with my father’s passing in 2003. My
progression toward MS accelerated during that time. My symptoms were minor
before my parents’ passings, but with my grief my teetering balance, chronic
fatigue and abnormal gait became much more apparent. I chose to live with my
suffering as my mourning continued; I just couldn’t seem to let go of the pain.
With
losing my Mom, I lost my best friend, my confidant and my advisor. With my Dad
gone, I lost a loving and caring father.
I went
on with my life not being fully present, existing in a state of elevated
depression, fatigue and detachment. I had a husband and three teenage children
at that time and I continued the motions of living, but I didn’t feel alive. It
took time for me to realize that my mother and father wouldn’t want this for
me. They would only want the best for my life. I had to move on.
It was
like digging myself out of a hole. I had to step back into life and I didn’t
know how.
Then
came my multiple sclerosis diagnosis. A loss of a different kind, and I wallowed
in that grief for a while as well. Eventually, dealing with my MS helped me to
regain some of the fight I had lost. It helped to guide and lift me out of my
grief. I received help with my depression in the form of therapy, and an
anti-depressant I used for two years. Two things I should have sought out much
sooner.
Luckily,
I am in a much better place in my life today. I have let my grief go and I
enjoy living life again. I always make a conscious effort to be aware of my
well-being during times of stress and loss.
Debi
Wilson:
Debi is
a retired Admissions and Marketing Director and currently resides in the
Pacific Northwest. She is married and the Mother of three grown children and
has three Grandchildren. She was diagnosed with PPMS in 2010. She hopes to help
and inspire others that are also dealing with MS.
In
support of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research:
Never
give up!
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Work! Work! Work!
The holiday
season is over.
My wife
and I took a break from all things work-related and enjoyed the time together.
I have
a pile to read through, so I’m taking a break from blogging, posting and tweeting, for the rest of this month.
More in
February.
Be inspired!
Be inspired!
Thursday, December 29, 2016
Respect for all librarians:
To all my librarian friends, champions of books, true magicians in the House of Life.
Without you, this writer would be lost in the Dust.
- Rick Riordan.
Discovery of Brain-membrane Immune Cell May Advance MS Treatment Work:
December 20, 2016
by
The
discovery of a new type of immune cell in the membranes covering the brain is
likely to advance understanding of the immune system’s impact on the brain, a
study says. It could also lead to new treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS)
and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Researchers
knew the immune cell existed in organs that create barriers between our body
and the outside world, such as the skin, gut, and lungs. The cells’ discovery
in the brain is not only surprising, but also suggests the cells may play a
role in communications between the microbes that inhabit other parts of our
bodies and the brain.
The
study, “Characterization of meningeal type 2 innate lymphocytes and their
response to CNS injury,” was published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.
It is
the second time in a year that the research team at the University of Virginia
(UVA) School of Medicine has stepped into the spotlight. Last year, they
discovered that the brain is lined with lymph vessels that scientists did not
think existed there. The finding suggested that lymph vessels were a route for
immune cells to move into the brain.
As the
researchers did additional lymph-vessel studies, they discovered a new type of
cell known as a type 2 innate lymphocyte. The cells were not in the lymph
vessels, as one might imagine, but on the outside, surrounding the vessels.
In
mouse experiments, the team found that the cells become activated after a
spinal cord injury. When they added the cells to the brains of mice which
lacked a factor crucial to the cells’ activation, they noticed improvement in
recovery from a spinal-cord injury.
“This
all comes down to immune system and brain interaction,” Jonathan Kipnis,
chairman of UVA’s Department of Neuroscience and director of its Center for
Brain Immunology and Glia, said in a press release.
“The
two were believed to be completely not communicating, but now we’re slowly,
slowly filling in this puzzle,” added Kipnis, the study’s senior investigator.
“Not only are these [immune] cells present in the areas near the brain, they
are integral to its function. When the brain is injured, when the spinal cord
is injured, without them, the recovery is much, much worse.”
The
team believes the cells do a lot more than just aiding in spinal-cord repair.
Since the same type of cell is also found in the gut, they think the cells
could be crucial to gut-brain communication. Several other studies have noted
the importance of gut microbes to brain health.
“These
cells are potentially the mediator between the gut and the brain,” Kipnis said.
“They are the main responder to microbiota changes in the gut. They may go from
the gut to the brain, or they may just produce something that will impact those
cells. But you see them in the gut and now you see them also in the brain.”
He added:
“We know the brain responds to things happening in the gut. Is it logical that
these will be the cells that connect the two? Potentially. We don’t know that,
but it very well could be.”
Although
a lot more research needs to be done to understand what the cells do in the
meninges, or brain membranes, the team is convinced they are involved in a
range of neurological conditions.
“The
long-term goal of this would be developing drugs for targeting these cells,”
said Sachin Gadani, lead author of the study. “I think it could be highly
efficacious in migraine, multiple sclerosis and possibly other conditions.”
In
support of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research:
Never
give up!
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