More evidence that MS & smoking are a bad combo
Here's some more support for "kicking the habit" -- or never acquiring it in the first place. Two studies are slated to appear in the journal "Multiple Sclerosis" that document harmful effects in people that either have MS or are at high risk of developing it. The first study shows that smoking leads to worse outcomes in people with MS. In 122 people with MS who were assessed an average of six years after developing MS, those who had ever been smokers were at a significantly higher risk than "never-smokers" of having a progressive form of MS. The risk was the highest in those who had begun smoking at age 15 or earlier. This relationship between smoking and progression may explain why the male:female ratio is higher in PPMS than in RRMS, since men are more likely to smoke than women.
The second study found that people with a clinically isolated syndrome had a higher risk of conversion to MS if they smoked. Within 36 months of their first symptom, 75% of the smokers but only 51% of the non-smokers had experienced a second symptom diagnostic of MS.
It's still far from clear why smoking might have these effects on MS, but it does seem evident that people with MS, or at risk of MS, should try to avoid smoking if at all possible.
I just quit smoking about 2
I just quit smoking about 2 months ago, was dx'd back in 2001. Started at 16, RRMS disease with an EDSS of about 1.5 -2.0, male 46 yrs old.
Had a relapse about 2 months ago after going 4.5 years with no relapse and this motivated me to finally quit (prior to this I had a very high relapse rate mostly optic neuritis). Wished I had done so earlier, as I went cold turkey and it has thus far been easier than I imagined it would, though I was never a heavy smoker. Will be interesting to see if the relapse rate is reduced or stopped as a result of quitting. Other than this disease, I am overall in pretty good shape, still run about 3 miles on the treadmill, and lift weights about 3-4x/week.
What is interesting is I started regular exercise back in 2000 and had what I believe was my first relapse about 3 months after starting to exercise. Looking back, I am thinking the combination of exercise and smoking may have been too much for the immune system to handle.
I am a twin - age 43, dx
I am a twin - age 43, dx with RRMS in 2004. I have never smoked, lots of exercise (mainly oudoors so lots of Vit D from the sun), and male. My sister has smoked 40 a day since she was 15, never exercised (couch potato) and does not have MS. The only difference was I got a bad case of Glandular Fever / Mono (EBV) age 16 (she did not).
My conclusion - I should have had a much lower risk of MS given that I am male, got plenty of Vit D, and never smoked. It appears to me that EBV seems to have a very strong role in this disease - much stronger than Vit D deficiency or smoking (my sister and I share the same genes).
Given that children get MS - it would be interesting to examine their exposure to smoking (there is quite a lot of evidence about their exposure to EBV).
Please, please, please will someone nail this sucker (MS) for good. MS researchers across the world have blood samples and tissue samples from MS patients, but still no-one can come up with anything definitive!
{This isn't an attack on the work of ACP - but a gripe with the MS research community who keep publishing material never provides a concrete answer)
I used to smoke. Way too
I used to smoke. Way too much and then after quitting for 10 years, 9-11 happened and I went right back to smoking. Took another two years before I quit again and the only reason I did was because how screwed-up it made my brain feel while smoking.. It felt like little insects were running around inside with each toke (inhalation) I took. Made me feel horrible. I knew it was worsening my MS and Knew I had to quit...
Since then, I got others I know with MS to quit smoking..
If you are smoking and you have MS, I seriously will tell you to find a way in which to quit.
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