[cpncrunch]

>MS is nerve damage caused by the nerve cell's coating (Myelin) being mistaken for a foreign body by the immune system, and attacking it.

That's the headline theory for MS, but if you look at the actual research you'll see that it's not actually proven. Sensitivity and specificity are 46% and 63% for the McDonald criteria, which is very poor. Plaques in MS are associated with depression, not disease activity in general. Patients with depression (but no MS) show myelin damage and brain plaques as well. The myelin damage may just be a factor of depression.

Sometimes things in medicine aren't quite as settled and proven as you might think. MS is certainly a very good example of this. Unfortunately there is such emotional and intellectual attachment to the idea that MS is neurological and caused by myelin damage that it is next to impossible to change people's minds. (I'm talking about the minds of doctors and researchers, not patients). It's certainly not something I'm interested in doing. I just find it interesting.

[kittiepryde]

(I might have entirely misinterpreted your comments, but they're definitely thought provoking -- and I only have more questions)

Are you suggesting that there might be 2 or more diseases that present as MS, some of which might be psychologically caused? If this was true, is there a process to look for this? Or that we don't know anything at all about MS since 'its' effects that we know to look for could be caused by the depression that comes with a debilitating condition?

Is there a point where if a costly placebo grants amazing results, is it was worth 'going through the motions' anyway to save lives \ greatly improve the quality of life?

[cpncrunch]

[reply deleted due to downvotes]

I guess this isn't the place for logical discussion. You post a logical, well-thought-out reply based on science, and people just downvote it. Discussion over. Sadly, this obviously isn't the place to discuss innovative research like this.