Steps to curb air pollution in the United States are paying off, helping to dramatically increase average life spans, a new study says.

Researchers at Brigham Young University and the Harvard School of Public Health report in the Jan. 22 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine that the average life expectancy in 51 U.S. cities increased nearly three years over recent decades. (WebMD.com)

Researchers in America have reported encouraging results from a trial treating people with MS with stem cells derived from their bone marrow.

The study, reported in the Lancet Neurology, involved 21 people with relapsing/remitting MS who had had two relapses in the previous year despite treatment with beta interferon. The injections of stem cells followed courses of treatment with immune suppressing drugs.

The researchers reported that this treatment is ‘a feasible procedure that not only seems to prevent neurological progression, but also appears to reverse neurological disability’. They drew attention to the need for larger, randomized trials.

Following treatment, the participants were followed for an average of three years. All 21 showed no worsening of disability as measured by the EDSS scale, and 17 improved by at least one point. 16 people experienced no further relapses following the stem cell treatment.

Pam Macfarlane, Chief Executive of the MS Trust said, “These results are very encouraging and show the potential of stem cells as a treatment for MS. This is a small study and we look forward to larger trials with more people.”

Reference

“Autologous non-myeloablative haemopoietic stem cell transplantation in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: a phase I/II study.”
The Lancet Neurology, 30 January 2009 [epub]

(MS Trust) – Photo by NIH Image Gallery, CC license on Flickr

Author of Why Dirt Is Good, Mary Ruebush says the lack of germs and dirt in a child’s environment and over-washing of hands may be linked to the formation of severe illnesses — even diabetes and multiple sclerosis.

The theory, backed by research, is called the hygiene hypothesis.

Scientists believe that our bodies use the germs to create a healthy immune system. Not only that, but the use of antibacterial soap to wash hands, which has been described as akin to using a jack-hammer to kill an ant, is likely resulting in the contamination of water, harmful to the development of frogs and potentially humans.

Read more about this research in these Canadian warnings against anti-bacterial soap.

Triclosan, the same ingredient in antibacterial soaps and cleaners, which are suspected in the malformation of frogs, is also being used as a germ killer in toothpaste and mouth wash! Molecular biologist John Gustafson insists that triclosan belongs only in hospitals and clinics, “not in the homes of healthy people.” (Scientific American)

See a list of products to avoid at Treehugger.com.