A new study has revealed that patients with multiple sclerosis who smoke experience a more rapid progression of their disease.
Patients with multiple sclerosis may experience a more rapid progression of the disease if they smoke.
For the study, Brian C. Healy, Ph.D., of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and colleagues examined 1,465 patients with MS who visited a referral center between February 2006 and August 2007.
Multiple sclerosis - Symptoms - Causes - Diagnosis - Treatment
Multiple sclerosis can be a severely disabling autoimmune disease that affects the myelin or insulating layer of the nerve fibers and typically has remissions and relapses
Multiple sclerosis can be a severely disabling autoimmune disease that affects the myelin or insulating layer of the nerve fibers and typically has remissions and relapses
A total of 780 (53.2 percent) of the patients had never smoked, 428 (29.2 percent) had smoked in the past and 257 (17.5 percent) were current smokers. During follow-up, seven never-smokers began smoking and 57 current smokers quit.
Current smokers had significantly more severe disease at the beginning of the study in terms of scores on disability scales and also in the analysis of MRI factors.
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A group of 891 patients was assessed over time to evaluate the rate of conversion from relapsing-remitting MS to secondary progressive MS (steady decline that develops after a period of relapsing-remitting symptoms).
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"The conversion from relapsing-remitting MS to secondary progressive MS occurred faster in current smokers compared with never-smokers but was similar in ex-smokers and never-smokers," the authors said.
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Risk of Multiple Sclerosis Relapse Reduced by Breastfeeding
Women with multiple sclerosis who breastfeed exclusively for at least two months are less likely to experience a relapse within a year after their baby's birth
Women with multiple sclerosis who breastfeed exclusively for at least two months are less likely to experience a relapse within a year after their baby's birth
"Other chemicals in smoke (e.g., nicotine) can compromise the blood-brain barrier or have immunomodulatory effects. Cigarette smoke increases the frequency and duration of respiratory infections, which have been linked to risk of MS and to the occurrence of MS relapses," the authors said.
"In conclusion, the results of this large and in part prospective investigation support the hypothesis that cigarette smoking has an adverse effect on progression of MS as measured by clinical and MRI outcomes," they added.
The study has been published in the July issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Source-ANI
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