Pro-inflammatory diet linked to worsening relapse rate in MS

For people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a pro-inflammatory diet is associated with worsening relapse rate and greater periventricular fluid-attenuated inversion recovery lesion volume, according to a study published online May 6 in Multiple Sclerosis Journal.

Alice M. Saul, from the University of Tasmania in Australia, and colleagues examined whether Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) scores correlate with measures of MS progression and inflammatory activity. A total of 223 participants with a first clinical diagnosis of central nervous system demyelination were followed annually for 10 years. DII and energy-adjusted DII (E-DII) scores were calculated at baseline and at five- and 10-year reviews and assessed as predictors of relapses and annualized change in disability, and two magnetic resonance imaging measures were also performed and assessed.

The researchers found that the risk of relapse was higher with a more pro-inflammatory diet (highest versus lowest E-DII quartile: hazard ratio, 2.24). An association between E-DII score and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery lesion volume was evident when analyses were limited to those assessed on the same manufacturer of scanner and those with a first demyelinating event at study entry (β = 0.38).

"While an anti-inflammatory diet does not replace anti-inflammatory medications in MS, this study provides evidence that an anti-inflammatory diet could contribute to the health and well-being of people with MS," the authors write.

One author disclosed ties to Connecting Health Innovations, a company that has licensed the right to his invention of the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII®).

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