"Pilot Study Is Testing Whether Mediterranean Diet Can Help MS Patients" — Ana Pena
New York researchers are doing a pilot study of whether a Mediterranean diet can reduce multiple sclerosis symptoms and improve patients’ quality of life. Ilana Katz Sand, MD, assistant professor of neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and associate medical director of the Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for Multiple Sclerosis, is leading the research. Diet can change the composition of gut bacteria. Some people with MS try to eat well and maintain their health. A poor diet can interfere with energy levels, bladder and bowel health, and possibly shift the immune system to a more or less inflammatory state. “We want to better understand the inflammatory process, the neurodegenerative process, and the effect that diet has on MS symptoms,” said Dr. Sand. “Our findings could be very important in understanding the onset of MS and how to treat it.” The diet is expected to generate changes in patients’ biological parameters, such as levels of lipids and carotenoids in blood, and salt in urine. Researchers are measuring these markers during the study.
- Ilana Katz Sand, MD, Assistant Professor, Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Associate Medical Director, The Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for Multiple Sclerosis