[Date]
[Name of MP]
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
Dear [Name]
MS, beta-interferon and an alternative
We understand that government has decided
to allow the use of beta-interferon in some
MS cases - however, it is not clear exactly
what will be offered to the other 75,000
victims of this horrible disorder. That is
not to say, of course, that recipients of
beta-interferon will be guaranteed relief
from their disease - and will probably suffer
side effects from the drug on top of that.
What does work, however, is nutritional therapy,
yet somehow this fact is greatly overlooked
or derided by the very people who could do
so much to help. In the experience of the
MS Diet Group - an international organisation
quickly gaining respect and recognition -
there is no doubt that this simple, inexpensive
treatment could change the lives of thousands
of people - people that may well include,
in the future, you or your relatives.
There is evidence that the MS Diet offers
immediate improvement in the condition of
people with the disease - with no side effects.
At a time when MS sufferers, their friends
and family feel abandoned by the NHS, a formal
research programme into the benefits of diet
in MS is long overdue. The government's funding
of such a programme would finally answer
the question 'Does Diet Work?' and it can
be laid to rest once and for all.
I'm sure you will agree, the time is right
to launch such a research programme; and,
judging by the comments we have received
from universities all over the country, the
results will be very welcome. I enclose them
for your information.
The fact is, thousands of voting MS sufferers
and their families are forced to stand by
and watch millions of pounds being invested
into drug research when the answer is cheap,
painless and readily accessible.
Your comments on this matter would be appreciated.
Yours sincerely
[Name]
Pages 2
Quotes
"the power of the drug companies has
distracted many MS reseachers
away from diet, and other non-drug issues."
Professor Charles Warlow
Professor Charles Warlow- Dept. of Clinical
Neurosciences at Western General Hospital,
University of Edinburgh.
"I fear the drug companies, and other
rich global organisations, are
overwhelming national states." Professor
Charles Warlow-
Professor Charles Warlow- Dept. of Clinical
Neurosciences at Western General Hospital,
University of Edinburgh.
"There is no doubt that clinical trials
with diet are needed" Professor Christine
Williams
Professor Christine Williams- Nutrition Unit,
Department of Food Science and Technology,
University of Reading.
"the real reason that such studies are
not done is that they lack the high tech
glamour and the required impact on 'wealth
creation'. " Professor Christine Williams
Professor Christine Williams- Nutrition Unit,
Department of Food Science and Technology,
University of Reading.
"patients themselves, and our MS society,
have become obsesssed with
beta interferon, even though any effect is
marginal at best." Professor Charles
Warlow
Professor Charles Warlow- Dept. of Clinical
Neurosciences at Western General Hospital,
University of Edinburgh.
"after all the money put into developing
beta-interferon, it cannot now be prescribed
for
most MS sufferers because it is too expensive
and only effective in small numbers of people.
Better perhaps to fund diet trials which
would result in cost effective treatment
or more people? " Prof. Christine Williams
Professor Christine Williams- Nutrition Unit,
Department of Food Science and Technology,
University of Reading.
"I'm told that MS is disproportionately
prevalent in Northeast
Scotland, and diet was the suggested explanation
offered by
one person whom I used to know whose husband
suffered from it"
Dr. Peter McCaffery
Dr. Peter McCaffery, Cultural History Group,
University of Aberdeen.
"I think that personal experience with
things like diet is often just as valid as,
if not more than what you may want to call
systematic science"
Dr. Carsten Timmermann
Dr Carsten Timmermann, Wellcome Research
Fellow, Centre for the History of Science,
Technology & Medicine, University of
Manchester,
"We all of course accept that diet plays
a crucial role in many illnesses but
unfortunately trials to confirm most of these
relationships, because of our biochemical
individuality, make them very expensive to
prove to any degree of acceptable significance"
Professor D A Ledward
Professor D.A. Ledward, Head of the Dept.
of Food & Science Technology, University
of Reading.
"You may be interested also that we
are establishing in the Faculty here a Centre
of Complementary Medicine and we have a number
of high profile people very
interested in this initiative including Jan
de Vries. The issues you raise will be
very pertinent to the remit of the Centre"
Professor William Hardcastle.
Professor William Hardcastle, Dean of the
Faculty of Health Sciences- Queen Margaret
University College, Edinburgh.
I read your email with interest, since I
had a friend who developed
MS quite young and spent some time many years
ago researching the
available literature on Diet and MS. Like
you I found the area very complex
but with sufficent indication that diet could
be an effective modulator for this
disease that affects many young people."
Prof. Christine Williams
Professor Christine Williams, Nutrition Unit,
University of Reading,
"There is a general problem with the
evaluation of non-drug treatments for
many disorders, and MS is no exception. And
that is because
most of the funding for evaluation now comes
from industry rather
than government and charity, it is new and
patented drugs that are
most intensively studied rather than older
drugs, surgical
interventions, physiotherapy, diet and so
on. It is much easier for a
researcher to do a drug company spnonsored
drug trial than raise
funds to do a serious trial of dietry interventions.
This is not to
blame industry. They are doing what they
have to do in a
competitive market. The problem lies with
government which is not
prepared to redress the balance and fund
research into
interventions of no commercial interest."
Professor Charles Warlow
"Professor Charles Warlow, Dept. of
Clinical Neurosciences at Western General
Hospital, University of Edinburgh.