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The Psychology of Beating an Incurable Illness | Bob Cafaro | TEDxCharlottesville

NOTE FROM TED: Please do not look to this talk for medical advice. This talk, which was filmed at a TEDx event, contains strong assertions about multiple sclerosis and lifestyle medicine that lack sufficient scientific evidence for general prescription. TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give TEDx organizers are described in more detail here: http://storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/tedx_content_guidelines.pdf

After a shocking diagnosis that would begin stripping Bob Cafaro of his ability to perform, sheer willpower and changes to his daily life allow him to beat all odds.

Bob Cafaro played chamber music full time and served on the faculty of the University of Virginia until 1983 when he became a regular with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. He later joined the Baltimore Symphony and in 1985 became a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra. In 1999, Bob was stricken with a virulent case of Multiple Sclerosis, which left him nearly blind and without the use of his hands. Defying what doctors had told him, he made a complete and remarkable recovery and has since written a book, been a member of The Rachmaninov Trio since 2003, and has grown passionate in his involvement with volunteer and outreach activities.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.

Investigators narrow in on a microRNA for treating multiple sclerosis

It turns out the gut is full of surprises. And one of those surprises may have offered up a key for unlocking a new way of treating multiple sclerosis (MS). Investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital have discovered a microRNA—a small RNA molecule—that increases during peak disease in a mouse model of MS and in untreated MS patients. When a synthetic version of the microRNA was orally given to the mice, it prevented disease. While several steps remain before these insights can be translated into therapy for patients, the researchers describe their results as both exciting and unexpected. Their findings are published in Cell Host & Microbe.

“We’ve discovered a new mechanism to regulate the microbiome and treat that hadn’t been known before,” said senior author Howard Weiner, MD, co-director of the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at the Brigham. “The is known to play an important role in MS and other diseases. Our findings, which show that a microRNA can be used to target and influence the microbiome with precision, may have applicability for MS and many other diseases, including diabetes, ALS, obesity and cancer.”

Weiner, lead author Shirong Liu, MD, Ph.D., an instructor in the Weiner laboratory, and their colleagues investigated how the altered gut microbiome affects the course of MS. To do so, they studied the microbiome and microRNAs found in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model of MS. Unexpectedly, they found that when they transferred fecal matter from EAE mice at peak disease, it protected the mice who received the transfer. The team found that a specific microRNA, known as miR-30d, rather than live bacteria, was responsible for preventing disease. The investigators found that miR-30d is enriched in untreated, relapsing-remitting MS patients as well.