More
MS news articles for May 2001
Stories
Linking Aspartame and Multiple Sclerosis Unfounded
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/Headlines-Aspartame.asp
May 2, 2001—Several
websites and documents circulating on the Internet are making unsubstantiated
claims about aspartame, an artificial sweetener used in many diet soft
drinks and other foods.
These stories claim
that Aspartame is the cause of a variety of illnesses, including MS, lupus,
Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, birth defects, Desert Storm syndrome,
brain tumors, and seizures. However, please bear in mind the following:
-
The claims are not documented;
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There is no evidence
for "epidemics" of multiple sclerosis, lupus, and some of the other diseases
as claimed in the articles;
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There is no evidence
that authors of the claims have any scientific, medical, or academic credentials;
nor is there any evidence that they have done any scientific research to
support their claims; and
-
No published, peer-reviewed
scientific research exists that supports the claims being made in the articles.
MS symptoms come and
go, often randomly. Thus, it is sometimes too easy to assume that something
coincidental in a person's life—a food eaten, a specific event, an unproved
therapy—is related to the onset of symptoms or the end of symptoms. In
fact, it may be independent of any of these things.
Scientifically controlled
studies are of great importance, whether they prove a drug is of true benefit
or that a substance is of true harm.