Complementary and alternative medicines and dietary interventions in multiple sclerosis: What is being used in South Australia and why?

Leong, E.M.; Semple, Susan J.; Angley, Manya; Siebert, W. J.; Petkov, John

doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2009.03.001

Cited by 83 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Sastre-Garriga et al [13] found that 41% of MS patients from Barcelona, Spain, had used unconventional therapies over the course of 1 year. Leong et al [12] found that 64.7% of South Australian MS patients use complementary and alternative medicine and/or dietary interventions. However, only some of these studies provide a broad listing of specific vitamins and herbals MS patients commonly consume [10][11][12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Leong et al [12] found that 64.7% of South Australian MS patients use complementary and alternative medicine and/or dietary interventions. However, only some of these studies provide a broad listing of specific vitamins and herbals MS patients commonly consume [10][11][12]. Leong et al [12] evaluated the current and previous use of specific minerals, vitamins, plant/HS, essential fatty acids, and other miscellaneous supplements in a South Australian MS sample.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies have shown that a large percentage of MS patients use vitamins and/or HS [3,[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. Only two of these studies were conducted in a US population [6,11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, only some of these studies provide a broad listing of specific vitamins and herbals MS patients commonly consume [10][11][12]. Leong et al [12] evaluated the current and previous use of specific minerals, vitamins, plant/HS, essential fatty acids, and other miscellaneous supplements in a South Australian MS sample. Surprisingly, none of these studies compared patterns of HS and DS use in MS patients versus healthy controls (HC).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Patterns of dietary and herbal supplement use by multiple sclerosis patients

et al. 2011

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To assess the patterns of dietary (DS) and herbal supplement (HS) use in MS patients, compare use between MS patients and healthy controls and to identify potential interactions with drugs used to treat MS. This study included 279 MS subjects and 161 controls from a study of risk factors in MS. All patients received a neurological examination. All subjects provided responses to a standardized questionnaire administered during an in-person interview. A larger proportion of MS patients (82.1%) compared to controls (60.1%) used one or more DS regularly for at least 3 months (p < 0.001). There was a trend toward a higher proportion of MS patients (26.6%) versus controls (17.8%) who used HSs for more than 1 month (p = 0.038). The most common DS used after MS onset was a multivitamin (78.1%), followed by vitamin D (65.8%). Use of the majority of specific DSs increased significantly after MS onset compared to before. The proportion of controls and MS patients after MS onset who reported using an individual HS was generally similar. The most commonly used HS in patients after MS was evening primrose oil (40.4%) followed by cranberry fruit extract (35.2%). There was no evidence for associations with progressive disease course or with choice of disease-modifying treatment. Dietary supplements are used more frequently by MS patients than controls. Use tends to increase after MS onset compared to before, especially for DS. The use of HS by MS patients is only modestly greater than by controls.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies have shown that a large percentage of MS patients use vitamins and/or HS [3,[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. Only two of these studies were conducted in a US population [6,11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Patterns of dietary and herbal supplement use by multiple sclerosis patients

et al. 2011

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“…Several recent studies have indicated a high prevalence of use of non-medical treatments (including self-care activities) among people with MS, not least within the area of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) [6][7][8][9][10][11]. Other studies have investigated aspects of the MS patient playing an active role in maintaining health and well-being.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-Care Activities among People with Multiple Sclerosis in Denmark: Use and User Characteristics

et al. 2017

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Background: People with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) are known to use a wide range of medical and non-medical treatments. This study aims at investigating the use of self-care activities within this patient group. Material and Methods: The study follows a descriptive cross-sectional design based on an online survey among members of the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Society's permanent respondent panel. Results: The results of the study indicate that the respondents carry out a wide variety of self-care activities. These activities comprise conventional activities as well as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)-based activities. The self-care activities are mainly kept up for non-specific and preventive purposes, with primarily personal or non-specific issues as the primary source of inspiration. Comparative analyses indicate that respondents with a low level of self-care more often are men, belong to the young age group and have a low level of education, a low level of self-assessed state of health, a low level of self-assessed quality of life (QoL), and an unknown subdiagnosis. Respondents with a high level of self-care are more often women and have a high level of self-assessed QoL. Conclusions: A wide variety of self-care activities are carried out by PwMS, comprising conventional as well as CAM-based activities. The purposes of such activities are manifold, but they are mainly of non-specific and preventive nature. Differences in background characteristics exist between groups of low and high levels of self-care.

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Dietary interventions for multiple sclerosis

Farinotti

Vacchi

Simi

et al. 2012

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

108

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PUFAs seem to have no major effect on the main clinical outcome in MS (disease progression), but they may tend to reduce the frequency of relapses over two years. However, the data that are available are insufficient to assess a real benefit or harm from PUFA supplementation because of their uncertain quality.Evidence on the possible benefits and risks of vitamin supplementation and antioxidant supplements in MS is lacking. More research is required to assess the effectiveness of dietary interventions in MS.

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Complementary and alternative medicines and dietary interventions in multiple sclerosis: What is being used in South Australia and why?

Cited by 83 publications

References 26 publications

Patterns of dietary and herbal supplement use by multiple sclerosis patients

Patterns of dietary and herbal supplement use by multiple sclerosis patients

Self-Care Activities among People with Multiple Sclerosis in Denmark: Use and User Characteristics

Dietary interventions for multiple sclerosis

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