b'Sciences, in Iran, evaluated lavender as it isthat people with active MS are still going to a plant that Persian traditional medicine consid- have evidence of lesions without Gd+ being ers to be a treatment of neurological diseases.administered for the MRI. The study did nd Forty-eight people with relapsing-remittinghowever, that approximately 8 percent of Gd+ MS were selected for the double-blind, controlledactive lesions would have been missed without trial.ParticipantscompletedtheModiedGd administration, which leads the researchers Fatigue Impact Scale then randomizedto recommend that Gd administration is still toreceivecapsulescontaining600mgofconsidered when disease activity is needed lavender owers as the intervention group orfor prognosis or treatment.capsules containing 600mg cornstarch asDr. ThrowerMRI is an important tool in the the control group. The capsules were taken three times a day for 60 days. Follow up wasdiagnosis and management of MS. It gives conducted weekly by telephone and in person atus a window into the brain and spinal cord 30 and 60 days. The MFIS was administeredin ways that no other technology can. When at the end of the trial for comparison. The resultsan MS lesion is new, generally meaning six showed a signicant difference with the controlweeks old or younger, the blood brain barrier groupinthatlavenderreducedthemeanallows the trafficking of inammatory immune MFIS score for the two-month trial period. cells into the central nervous system resulting Dr. Thrower: How about some lavender within damage to myelin and axons. That same your coffee? As mentioned earlier, fatigue is aleaky blood brain barrier will allow gadolinium common and problematic symptom for manycontrast to cross and result in the new MS living with MS. As a neurologist working withlesionenhancing.Wehavetraditionally the MS community, Im always on the lookoutgiven the IV gadolinium contrast when we do for new ways to help folks manage fatigue.MRIs to diagnose or monitor MS. There is Lavender is typically thought of as a supplementnow a move away from routinely doing so. that helps with stress and anxiety. This studyThismoveisbeingdrivenbytwofactors. showed that 600mg of a lavender capsule byFirst, research has shown that the IV gadolinium mouth daily actually helped improve energycanberetainedinthehumanbrainfor levels. months or years. Fortunately, no studies have shown any harm from this retained gadolinium, Gadolinium still useful with MRIs but the research is relatively early. Second, as In this retrospective study, Italian researchersMRI techniques evolve, research (including analyzed 84 relapsing-remitting MS patientsthisstudy),andreal-worldexperienceare MRI scans for gadolinium-enhancing lesionsshowing that MS healthcare providers are or new/enlarged T2 lesions and the activepretty good at detecting new MS lesions on MSclassicationofthoselesionswithorMRI even without the IV gadolinium. There without Gd administration. Participants hadmay still be times when gadolinium contrast a median age of 35, were 54 percent female,should be given, such as with the initial 56percentwereonadisease-modifyingdiagnosis, aggressive MS, or after changing treatment, and had a disease duration of atherapies, but we should be more thoughtful median 3.6 years. The study ndings showedabout when to use it.53 msfocusmagazine.org'