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Below is the abstract of the recent published article: A Multimodal Intervention for Patients with Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis: Feasibility and Effect on Fatigue published on PubMed.
J Altern Complement Med. 2014 Jan 29. [Epub ahead of print]
A Multimodal Intervention for Patients with Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis: Feasibility and Effect on Fatigue.

Abstract

Abstract Background: Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease influenced by environmental factors. Objectives: The feasibility of a multimodal intervention and its effect on perceived fatigue in patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis were assessed. Design/setting: This was a single-arm, open-label intervention study in an outpatient setting. Interventions: A multimodal intervention including a modified paleolithic diet with supplements, stretching, strengthening exercises with electrical stimulation of trunk and lower limb muscles, meditation, and massage was used. Outcome measures: Adherence to each component of the intervention was calculated using daily logs. Side-effects were assessed from a monthly questionnaire and blood analyses. Fatigue was assessed using the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS). Data were collected at baseline and months 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, and 12. Results: Ten (10) of 13 subjects who were enrolled in a 2-week run-in phase were eligible to continue in the 12-month main study. Of those 10 subjects, 8 completed the study and 6 subjects fully adhered to the study intervention for 12 months. Over a 12-month period, average adherence to diet exceeded 90% of days, and to exercise/muscle stimulation exceeded 75% of days. Nutritional supplements intake varied among and within subjects. Group daily average duration of meditation was 13.3 minutes and of massage was 7.2 minutes. No adverse side-effects were reported. Group average FSS scores decreased from 5.7 at baseline to 3.32 (p=0.0008) at 12 months. Conclusions: In this small, uncontrolled pilot study, there was a significant improvement in fatigue in those who completed the study. Given the small sample size and completer rate, further evaluation of this multimodal therapy is warranted.

PMID: 24476345 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]

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Showing 10 comments
  • John Ballou

    I have a dear friend who is suffering from progressive MS and is kind of giving up. She is paralyzed on her left side. I would be very interested if anything can be done to give her hope again.

    • Chloe Rankin

      Hi John,

      She might find hope in reading some the the success stories that came from people one the diet. She can read them here.

      -The Wahls Team

  • Cougar

    How could you possibly have a blinded study? Even if the results were evaluated by a blinded panel, I don’t know how the researchers who administered the program would stay blinded through the period of research. Would you have to control for lifestyle choices among the researchers to prevent inadvertent messages? How would you find junk-eating researchers with enough interest to participate in running such a program?

    What would you feed the control group? Is it ethical to just “let them eat cake?” Do you force feed them bagels to keep dietary variations from skewing the data? Do you prescribe a certain daily amount of gluten and dairy to the control group, and is that ethical?

    How would you stop random lifestyle improvements in the control group? The paleo message is being heard around the world, and it would be hard to find very many people who have not at least heard of it. How would you stop people with MS from watching the Wahls TED Talk and being inspired by it?

    When my wife and I go to a restaurant, we always have to explain our choices. She pulls out an old driver’s license which she calls her “grandma” picture because of how much more puffiness she experienced before paleo. What’s to prevent members of the control group from running into my wife and I or other evangelists for paleo?

    How do you control the control group for a large-scale study? It might be as hard keeping people off of paleo as it is keeping them on it. 🙂

    • Naomi Wahls

      Hello!

      Study design issues are important. Dietary and lifestyle studies cannot be done in a way that prevents the participant from knowing which group they are in. The participants will know which group they are in, the people doing the assessments do not. The control group is asked to continue to follow their usual diet. We complete 24 hr. dietary recalls and food logs to know what people are eating.

  • Lorena Páez

    I’m from South America, Quito Ecuador. My younger brother was diagnosed with MS last year. He has no private insurance and the medicine that he’s taking is the only one available here, the name is Revive. We have no access to any other medicine or treatment here in Ecuador.
    I’m a personal trainer and pilates certified instructor. I’ve been training my brother with Pilates , Trx , bosu ans cycling. The past month he has also been jogging and swing g.
    What is worrying me is that the medicine that my bother is taking is not helping him as it should. Unfortunately is the only medicine that is available here in Ecuador.
    I would like to get more information about this entire alternative treatment, specially about the electrical stimulation, type of massages and meditation.

    Thank you for your help.

    Lorena Paez.

    • Naomi Wahls

      Hi Lorena,

      You can find more information about electrical stimulation in The Wahls Protocol. The products Dr. Wahls uses can be found here.

  • carol ali

    I have been listening to your webinars, read and consult your first book, follow the Paleo diet adding some vitamins, exercise, do meditation, tai Chi, modified yoga and have found increased energy and memory focus. However still have pain in right hip/leg area. Would like to know what exercise muscle simulation machines you recommend?
    From where can they be purchased?
    Thanks,

    • Naomi Wahls

      Hi Carol,

      You can find some of the products that Dr. Wahls uses and where to find them here.

  • Carrie

    I would like to find out the specifics of what the supplements were the subjects took, how the electrical stimulation was administered and where, what meditation and stretching techniques were used….

    • Chloe Rankin

      Hi Carrie,

      You can find more information about electrical stimulation and supplements in The Wahls Protocol. You can purchase the book here. The products Dr. Wahls uses can be found here.

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