MIND Diet Impact on Multiple Sclerosis Patients: Biochemical Changes after Nutritional Intervention

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Nutrition Science
• Immunology

Background:

• The MIND diet is known for neuroprotection in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
• Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disease with significant impact on quality of life.
• Oxidative stress and altered neurotrophic factors are implicated in MS pathogenesis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a MIND diet nutritional intervention (NI) on MS patients.
• To compare baseline characteristics of MS patients with healthy controls.
• To assess changes in clinical and biochemical markers after the MIND diet intervention in MS patients.

Main Methods:

• A two-stage study involving MS patients and healthy controls.
• Stage 1: Case-control comparison of MS patients (baseline) and controls.
• Stage 2: Before-and-after assessment of MS patients following MIND diet NI, measuring fatigue, quality of life, and serum biomarkers.

Main Results:

• MS patients at baseline exhibited higher fatigue, lower MIND diet adherence, elevated oxidative stress markers (lipoperoxidation, 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine), and altered neurotrophic factors (BDNF, GDNF) compared to controls.
• The MIND diet intervention significantly reduced fatigue and improved physical quality of life (MSQOL-54) in MS patients.
• Post-intervention, MS patients showed decreased serum levels of lipoperoxidation, 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine, and GDNF.

Conclusions:

• The MIND diet intervention is associated with clinical improvements in fatigue and quality of life for MS patients.
• Nutritional intervention with the MIND diet demonstrates potential for reducing oxidative stress and modulating neurotrophic factors in MS.
• The MIND diet represents a promising therapeutic strategy for managing multiple sclerosis.