I realize that for most readers, it may seem absurd that an antibiotic can treat a condition like multiple sclerosis. But is it really? Let's delve deeper into this issue over the years. Remember, although medicine does not have answers to all the questions about our health, with each passing year, we are getting closer to the answers to the questions that trouble us.
Early Research: Antibiotics in Animal Models of MS
At the beginning of this century, over 20 years ago, research was conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the USA, in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute in Martinsried, Germany, on the impact of the well-known antibiotic minocycline on autoimmune encephalitis in mice. This disease's course and symptoms correspond to multiple sclerosis. It turned out that minocycline reduced the severity of disease attacks and prevented their recurrence. No one expected that an antibiotic, which works only antibacterial, would have such an effect on the body. The researchers did not stop there and continued to explore the topic for the following years.
Development of Research on Antibiotics as a Treatment for MS
In 2014, the Department of Thermobiology of the Institute of Biophysics at the University of Lodz in Poland published an article on mitoxantrone, an anthracycline antibiotic, in the treatment of multiple sclerosis. The results were also satisfactory. Continuing along this path and analyzing the following years, we reach 2017, when the research was no longer conducted on animals but was carried out as clinical trials in hospitals. The third phase of clinical trials was published by Canadian scientists from the University of Calgary's Hotchkiss Brain Institute. It became undeniable that the previously mentioned minocycline, known as an antibiotic for acne, can slow the progression of multiple sclerosis. The studies also show that minocycline, compared to standard MS medications, is relatively safe and, moreover… cheap.
Discussion: Antibiotics and Their Impact on MS
Is its low price a drawback or an advantage? As is often the case, the point of view depends on the vantage point; the patient is happy with the low treatment costs, but is the drug manufacturer as well? However, this is not what we want to focus on now. The undeniable fact over the decades has been, colloquially speaking, that antibiotics work on MS. These are not conspiracy theories but theses supported by clinical studies. What is the reason that an antibacterial drug, which every antibiotic is, positively affects the symptoms of multiple sclerosis? There could be two answers: the first, widely accepted by the medical world, says that antibiotics positively affect our autoimmune system, whose aggressive action leads to the onset of multiple sclerosis. The second theory, not as commonly stated, assumes that multiple sclerosis has a bacterial basis, and therefore the antibiotic, by combating the pathogen, also combats the symptoms of MS.
Medical Case: From Infection to MS Diagnosis
At this point, I recall a case where a healthy person developed a severe inflammatory condition after tooth extraction and implant placement. An antibiotic was prescribed because a bacterial infection was rightly diagnosed. Unfortunately, the patient took the antibiotic for too short a period, and as a result, it was highly likely that bacteria from the completely decayed tooth entered the bloodstream, as the patient's condition gradually worsened over many months. Another dose of the antibiotic was not administered because blood tests for bacteria came back negative.
Long-term Consequences of Misdiagnosed MS
After many more months, a previously healthy young person was diagnosed with none other than MS, along with demyelination confirmed by MRI. A possible active bacterial infection in the body did not test positive for various reasons, which was supposed to confirm and exclude MS. (It should be noted here that excluding various bacterial infections along with the presence of pathogens in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid is one of the conditions necessary to diagnose MS).
Unexpected Turn: Lyme Disease and Its Treatment
The patient's treatment would have been completely different if, in the meantime, they had not contracted Lyme disease after a tick bite. The test came back positive! As is widely known, Lyme disease is a bacterial infection. At that point, a strong antibiotic was prescribed. Surprisingly, after some time, the patient gradually got rid of the symptoms associated with both Lyme disease and multiple sclerosis.
The Importance of Accurate Diagnosis and Holistic Approach in Treating Multiple Sclerosis
Did the antibiotic work on the autoimmune disease, which is MS, by modulating the action of the autoimmune system? A disease that coincidentally and for unknown reasons could have appeared close to the dentist visit? Or did the antibiotic only work on the bacteria in the patient's body? Both the bacteria causing the infection undetected in the blood after tooth extraction and the other bacteria – the spirochete of the Borrelia burgdorferi species confirmed by test results.
Unfortunately, we do not know this because two doctors had completely different opinions on the matter. One thing is certain: the patient, who got rid of all the ailments, did not care much anymore, and that is the most important thing!!!
In summary, we must always look for the cause of our ailments, because even the best neurologist in the world does not know how we lived, what we did, and what could have caused all the symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Writing this article, I would like to once again make it clear to all readers that we must search for the cause of our symptoms for the rest of our lives and consult our health condition with knowledgeable specialists. A knowledgeable specialist, in my opinion, will first not state that we have an incurable disease but rather that today we do not know what is wrong with us and cannot cure it. We also do not know what tomorrow will bring...
Author: Andy - CEO of Biomelius LTD, who was diagnosed with MS in 2017
