A neurological scientist at Rush University Medical Center has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to determine if cinnamon, a common food spice and flavoring material, might halt the destructive disease process of multiple sclerosis (MS)In earlier published studies, the principal investigator Kalipada Pahan, PhD showed that sodium benzoate, a metabolite of cinnamon, inhibits the expression of various pro-inflammatory molecules in brain cells and blocks the disease process of MS in mice.
Cinnamon’s anti-inflammatory properties counteract and inhibit the glial activation that causes brain cell death.
Current medications to treat the symptoms of MS are prohibitively expensive, have many side effects, and are only 30-40 percent effective.
If the Rush study is successful, there may be a day when just a teaspoonful of ground cinnamon per day on oatmeal or with with milk, tea or honey, allows MS patients to manage the disease process and reduce the drug cost drastically to approximately $10 per month.
No comments:
Post a Comment