Elevated Red Blood Cells And Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS), sometimes also called disseminated sclerosis or encephalomyelitis disseminata is an autoimmune condition where the immune system destroys the central nervous system, causing demyelination. Multiple sclerosis usually occurs among young adults, and is common prevalent among women. Its prevalence rate has been found to lie between 2 and 150 per 100,000. Multiple sclerosis in its earliest form was first described by Jean-Martin Charcot.

Scientists are yet to find out the exact cause/causes of multiple sclerosis. However, they believe that the disease is perhaps caused by a combination of hereditary factors, an environmental factor such as a virus and also a deficiency in the immune system. As multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease, it is the result of an attack that is launched by the body's own immune system.

For reasons still not clear to researchers, immune cells attack and destroy the myelin sheath that performs the job of insulating neurons in the brain and spinal cord. The myelin sheath, formed by other brain cells called glia, accelerates transmission and prevents electrical activity in one cell from short-circuiting to another cell. With the disruption in communication between the brain and the rest of the body, the normal passage of sensations and control messages is badly hit and it causes symptoms of multiple sclerosis to manifest.

Among other problems, fatigue affects most people having multiple sclerosis. The severity of fatigue can vary from mild to very severe. If we do not have enough iron in the diet and in the blood stream, it can lead to situations of extreme fatigue, because iron helps the red blood cells transport oxygen throughout our bodies. If a person suffering from multiple sclerosis is under stress for long, his/her body can demand more iron, because there is more demand on the red blood cells to carry higher levels of oxygen at a faster pace. However, as too much iron in blood is also not good at all, the amount of iron in your blood should be monitored by a doctor.

If you have a very low amount of red blood cells, this can lead to fatigue or at least further increase the multiple sclerosis fatigue that you may already be experiencing. If you have high levels of white blood cells, there is likely to be an active infection in your body.

That multiple sclerosis has some link with the level of red blood cells was suggested by this study. The major fatty acids were measured in total lipid extracts of red blood cells from 23 control subjects and 31 patients who were suffering from multiple sclerosis. In the healthy control subjects an inverse correlation (r = -0.83) was found between the percentages of linoleate and arachidonate. But such an inverse correlation was not found in the patients. This indicates that there is an abnormality in the red blood cells of patients with multiple sclerosis specifically with regard to the regulation of the relative amounts of unsaturated fatty acids, and this may pave the way for the possible treatment of the disease with dietary supplements.

In another study, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity of red blood cells of 23 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients (10 men and 13 women, aged 22-64 years) was observed and compared to the enzyme activity of 26 healthy persons (15 men and 11 women, aged 19-50 years). The researchers found that the mean GSH-Px activity was significantly higher (P<0.001) in red blood cells of MS patients (39.1±8.1 IU/g Hb) as compared to the group of healthy persons (25.9±5.2 IU/g Hb).

• Cassandra Bagley
• 12/02/2009, 10:59 AM
• 0 Comments