RESEARCH
Research Round-Up Is There a Link between Salt and MS Attacks? Three studies published this spring by collaborators at Yale, Harvard and MIT/Broad Institute suggest that dietary salt can speed the development of an MS-like disease in mice, providing new insights on immune system activity involved in multiple sclerosis. These studies pinpoint new avenues for strategies that can decrease MS attacks. Although these findings show important evidence that salt may be a factor in driving immune activity in lab settings, more research is needed to determine whether dietary salt plays a role in human MS. Carefully conducted studies of dietary habits would help to confirm the suggestion that dietary salt may be responsible for the increasing rates of MS and autoimmune diseases. Controlled clinical trials in which salt intake is limited in people with MS would be required to determine whether consuming less salt can reduce MS disease activity. Birth Month May Influence Risk of MS British researchers investigated why people born in May appear to have a higher risk of developing multiple sclerosis than those born in November. Tests suggest that those born in May tend to have higher levels of potentially harmful immune cells and lower levels of vitamin D in their blood, and that these
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MSConnection • SUMMER 2013
factors may influence MS risk. If confirmed in larger studies, this offers more evidence for the interaction of environmental and genetic factors in MS. Society Rallies for Research in D.C. Thousands of people gathered in April on the Carnegie Library grounds in Washington, D.C. to participate in the Rally for Medical Research. The goal was to raise awareness of the critical need to make funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) a priority. The National MS Society and nearly 200 other health and science organizations united for this first-of-itskind event, founded and organized by the American Association for Cancer Research. The National Institutes of Health is the largest source of funding for medical research in the world. It has been a driving force behind many decades of advances that have improved the health of people in every corner of the United States. Federal funding for medical research at the NIH has continued to decline since 2003. Getting a New Taste for Reducing Cognitive Impairment The National MS Society is partnering with Accera Inc. and the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine to determine potential benefits of Accera’s medical food, Axona, on MS-related cognitive impairment. Axona has