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Every few years a new
supplement or vitamin will magically popup and promise to be the
cure-all people seek for a variety of easy fixes and secret cures.
MSM is sulfur; in its purest form, you find amazing results but not
magical results.
MSM and seasonal
allergies
A multicentered, open-label
trial on the safety and efficacy of methylsulfonylmethane MSM in the
treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis.
J Altern Complement Med.
2002 Apr;8(2):167-73. Barrager E,. GENESIS Center for Integrative
Medicine, Graham, WA.
Numerous clinical
observations and case studies have led researchers to hypothesize
that MSM may reduce the symptoms associated with seasonal allergic
rhinitis. The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the
efficacy of MSM in the reduction of seasonal allergic rhinitis
associated symptoms. Fifty subjects consumed 2,600 mg of MSM
supplement orally per day for 30 days. Clinical respiratory symptoms
and energy levels were evaluated by a Seasonal Allergy Symptom
Questionnaire (SASQ) at baseline and on days 7, 14, 21, and 30.
Immune and inflammatory reactions were measured by plasma
immunoglobulin E (IgE) and C-reactive protein at baseline and on day
30. An additional inflammatory biomarker, plasma histamine, was
measured in a subset of subjects (n = 5). Day 7 upper and total
respiratory symptoms were reduced significantly from baseline. Lower
respiratory symptoms were significantly improved from baseline by
week 3. All respiratory improvements were maintained through the
30-day visit. Energy levels increased significantly by day 14; this
increase continued through day 30. No significant changes were
observed in plasma IgE or histamine levels. The results of this
study suggest that MSM supplementation of 2,600 mg/day for 30 days
may be helpful in the reduction of symptoms associated with seasonal
allergic rhinitis.
MSM and cancer
Aspirin and
methylsulfonylmethane (MSM): a search for common mechanisms, with
implications for cancer prevention.
Anticancer Res. 2003
Jan-Feb;23(1A):453-8.
Aspirin (acetylsalicylic
acid), a prototypic nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), and
MSM, a "nutritional supplement", are both used in the treatment of
arthritis and described as cancer chemopreventive agents. Initial
experimentation indicating that aspirin and MSM also induced the
differentiation of murine erythroleukemia cells led to a search for
common mechanisms involving these two agents. Since the major
mechanism of action attributed to aspirin is the inhibition of
cyclooxygenase (COX), prostaglandin production was examined under
differentiation-inducing conditions in murine erythroleukemia cells.
Aspirin at low, nontoxic concentrations induced differentiation
leading to terminal cell division. Aspirin had no effect on PGE2
production and minimal inhibitory effect on COX activity.
Furthermore, salicylate, a major metabolite of aspirin and an
ineffective COX inhibitor, induced differentiation at concentrations
comparable to aspirin. Similar experiments with MSM indicated that
MSM had no effect on PGE2 production or on COX activity under
differentiation--inducing conditions and at concentrations reported
in other studies. These experiments indicated that aspirin and MSM
induced differentiation by a COX-independent mechanism(s) and
suggested that a common mechanism for the chemopreventive action
invoked by both agents might be the activation of gene functions
leading to differentiation and thereby dismantling the cellular
capacity for proliferation. | 
