Pinch of Salt

Nourbakhsh B, Graves J, Casper TC, Lulu S, Waldman A, Belman A, Greenberg B, Weinstock-Guttman B, Aaen G, Tillema JM, Hart J, Ness J, Rubin J, Krupp L, Gorman M, Benson L, Rodriguez M, Chitnis T, Rose J, Barcellos L, Waubant E; Network of Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Centers. Dietary salt intake and time to relapse in paediatric multiple sclerosis.J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2016 Jun 24. pii: jnnp-2016-313410. doi: 10.1136/jnnp-2016-313410. [Epub ahead of print]

BACKGROUND:Salt intake was reported to be associated with increased clinical and MRI activity in adult patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS).


OBJECTIVE: To determine if salt intake is associated with time to relapse in patients with paediatric-onset MS.


METHODS: Paediatric-onset MS and patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) within 4 years of disease onset were recruited from 15 paediatric MS centres in the USA as part of a case-control study. Patients with available prospective relapse data subsequent to enrolment were included in this project. Dietary sodium intake was assessed by self-report questionnaire using the validated Block Kids Food Screener. Cox proportional-hazards regression models were employed to determine the association of sodium density, excess sodium intake and sodium density tertiles with time to relapse following study enrolment, adjusting for several confounders.


RESULTS: 174 relapsing-remitting MS/CIS patients were included in this analysis (mean age of 15.0 years, and 64.9% females). Median duration of follow-up was 1.8 years. In an unadjusted analysis, density of daily sodium intake was not associated with time to relapse, and patients with excess sodium intake had no decrease in time to relapse as compared with patients with non-excess sodium intake. A
nalysis demonstrated that patients in the high tertile (top third) of sodium density had a Hazard Ratio of 0.69 (95% CI 0.37 to 1.30, p=0.25) and 1.37 (95% CI 0.74 to 2.51, p=0.32) compared with patients in the lowest tertile (lowest third) , respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: Higher salt intake was not associated with decreased time to relapse in patients with paediatric-onset MS.


It was reported that an increase in salt intake increased autoimmunity in mice and these studies where in the top ten cited papers and was in part supported by a study in MS. MD2 pointed out that the mouse studies used the equivalent of taking 0.6kg salt a day, enough to make you vomit, if rodents could vomit..which they can't. This comment was removed two times by Nature and on the third time it was added it stayed after we complained to them. The mouse stuff was barely repeatable and in this study the paediatric study the salt intake had no influence.

It is best to watch your salt intake for general health

Labels: