Multiple Sclerosis News TodayPro-inflammatory Diet Linked to Relapses After 1st MS Attack: Study

Unveil the potential ramifications of a pro-inflammatory diet on MS patients, especially concerning relapse rate and inflammatory brain lesions.

Recent research from the University of Tasmania offers key insights into diet and MS. Essentially, a pro-inflammatory diet may boost relapse rates and inflammatory brain lesions. This highlights the potential impact of such a diet on MS patients. Notably, this diet didn’t influence disability progression or chronic inflammation lesions.

MS, defined as a chronic autoimmune disease, harms nerve cells. Significantly, lifestyle modifications may enhance MS symptoms and outcomes. A diet high in fats and proteins, known as a pro-inflammatory diet, could heighten inflammation. Conversely, incorporating anti-inflammatory foods like turmeric, fiber, and beta-carotene may benefit those with inflammatory diseases.

The Dietary Inflammation Index (DII), measures diet-related impacts on chronic inflammation. Importantly, higher DII scores imply elevated systemic inflammation, which correlates with increased cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer risk.

The researchers used data from 190 participants in the AusLong Study, all later diagnosed with MS. Participants completed a food frequency questionnaire, from which DII scores were computed. Importantly, for each one-unit DII increase, relapse risk rose by 18%. Strikingly, those in the highest energy-adjusted scores quartile were 2.24 times more likely to relapse.

No link emerged between DII scores and total lesion load across the group. However, among those scanned with the same MRI machine, the highest 25% DII scores group had a significantly higher lesion volume. Consequently, more research is needed to confirm anti-inflammatory diet benefits on MS relapse rates and MRI markers.