Modifiable environmental factors in multiple sclerosis

Abstract

Potential environmental modifiable factors involved in multiple sclerosis (MS) include low adherence to treatment, smoking, obesity, low levels of liposoluble vitamins A and D, high consumption of salt, and a sedentary lifestyle. Chronic tobacco use, obesity, sedentarism and insufficient levels of these vitamins all contribute to maintenance of a proinflammatory state. It is unlikely that there will be noticeable improvement in the inflammatory condition of MS if stopping smoking, reducing weight, exercising, increasing vitamin levels are done in an isolated and erratic manner. Modification of each and every one of these environmental risk factors is likely to be an important approach in the management of MS. The present review presents the arguments for an association between these hazardous modifiable factors and the chronic inflammatory state observed in MS.Keywords: multiple sclerosis, smoking, obesity, vitamin D, vitamin A, exercise. RESUMOPotenciais fatores ambientais modificáveis envolvidos na esclerose múltipla (EM) incluem baixa adesão ao tratamento, tabagismo, obesidade, baixos níveis das vitaminas lipossolúveis A e D, e um estilo de vida sedentário. O uso crônico de tabaco, obesidade, sedentarismo e níveis insuficientes destas vitaminas podem todos contribuir para a manutenção de um estado pró-inflamatório. É pouco provável que haja melhora notável na condição inflamatória da EM se a cessação do tabagismo, a redução de peso, exercícios e maiores níveis de vitaminas forem obtidos isoladamente e de maneira errática. A modificação de cada um destes fatores de risco ambientais poderá ser importante parte do manejo eficaz da EM. A presente revisão apresenta argumentos para uma associação entre os fatores modificáveis nocivos e o estado inflamatório crônico observado na EM. It is possible that, with a specific approach to modifiable factors, the use of more aggressive treatment may not be necessary and the patient might thrive on immunomodulatory drugs that have less severe side effects. However, when the patient presents an aggressive form of MS and/or does not respond to immunomodulatory drugs 3 , the immediate reaction is to progress to immunosuppression 4 . Perhaps it is time to consider the modifiable factors in MS when treating a patient. It goes without saying that adequate adherence to treatment needs to have been confirmed before the patient is given second-line therapy with potentially more serious, and even fatal, side effects. Through quitting smoking, losing weight, exercising and maintaining proper serum levels of vitamins A and D, the patient may respond better to all pharmacological treatments. It is, after all, the environmental factors that perpetuate the inflammatory state in MS and, for unknown reasons, these factors are frequently ignored. A summary of the potentially modifiable factors in presented in Table. Departamento de Neurologia, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Metropolitana de Santos, Santos SP, Brazil. . The relative risk of developing MS among smokers is almost twi...

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