Commentary

Can particles in dairy and beef cause cancer and MS?


 

Association with MS?

Unperturbed, Dr. de Villiers and Dr. zur Hausen went one step further in their current article. They posited that MS is also associated with the consumption of dairy products and beef. Here too geographic distribution prompted the idea to look for BMMF in the brain lesions of patients with MS. The researchers isolated ring-shaped DNA molecules that proved to be closely related to BMMF from dairy and cattle blood. “The result was electrifying for us.”

However, there are several other factors to consider, such as vitamin D3 deficiency. This is because the incidence of MS decreases the further you travel from the poles toward the equator (that is, as solar radiation increases). Also, EBV clearly plays a role because patients with MS display increased titers of EBV antibodies. One study also showed that people in Antarctica excreted reactivated EBV in their saliva during winter and that vitamin D3 stopped the viral secretion.

Under these conditions, the researchers hypothesized that MS is caused by a double infection of brain cells by EBV and BMMF. EBV is reactivated by a lack of vitamin D3, and the BMMF multiply and are eventually converted into proteins. A focal immunoreaction causes the Schwann cells and oligodendrocytes to malfunction, which leads to the destruction of the myelin sheaths around the nerve fibers.

This article was translated from the Medscape German Edition. A version appeared on Medscape.com.

Pages

Recommended Reading

Medical school culinary medicine programs grow despite limited funding
MDedge Infectious Disease
Study of beliefs about what causes cancer sparks debate
MDedge Infectious Disease
Congenital CMV linked to pediatric hyperdiploid ALL
MDedge Infectious Disease
Three wild technologies about to change health care
MDedge Infectious Disease
Scientists create ‘vagina on a chip’: What to know
MDedge Infectious Disease
Breast cancer exacts high financial toll worldwide
MDedge Infectious Disease
‘Infuriating’ prescription denial leaves patient without antiemetics
MDedge Infectious Disease
Maternal infection in pregnancy ups risk for childhood leukemia?
MDedge Infectious Disease
Toxic chemicals we consume without knowing it
MDedge Infectious Disease
Docs struggle to keep up with the flood of new medical knowledge. Here’s advice
MDedge Infectious Disease