Fw: [msalternatives] MS: MORE EVIDENCE THAT STRESS MAKES MS SYMPTOMS WORSE

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----- Original Message ----- From: Brosta

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Cc: MS Alternatives

Sent: Saturday, March 20, 2004 8:58 AM

Subject: [msalternatives] MS: MORE EVIDENCE THAT STRESS MAKES MS SYMPTOMS WORSE

MORE EVIDENCE THAT STRESS MAKES MS SYMPTOMS WORSE(Association between stressful life events and exacerbation in multiplesclerosis: a meta-analysis)http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/reprint/bmj.38041.724421.55Most patients with multiple sclerosis believe that stressful life eventsmake their symptoms worse, but this theory remains controversial among careproviders and academics.However, new research to be published on bmj.com on Friday 19 March 2004,confirms the association between stressful life events and exacerbation inpatients with multiple sclerosis.Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco analysed datafrom 14 trials of stress and multiple sclerosis and found a modest butsignificant risk of exacerbation after non-traumatic stressful life events,such as job stress or financial problems.However, these data did not allow the linking of specific types of stressto exacerbations, nor should they be used to infer that patients areresponsible for their exacerbations, say the authors.These findings will hopefully open investigation into new avenues ofmanaging multiple sclerosis, either through stress management or throughtreatment of the physical responses to stress, they conclude.Contact: Mohr, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University ofCalifornia, San Francisco, USA (YORK UK)"Make today the best you've ever had."<http://www.mswebpals.org/jjukprofiles.htm#14>