Health Misinformation Puts Multiple Sclerosis Patients at Risk with Unproven Treatments

Abeer Balresh and Taqwa Nefzi

Multiple sclerosis (MS) has long been one of the most controversial neurological diseases in Arab media. This comes at a time when global cases continue to rise, from 2.3 million in 2013 to 2.8 million in 2020, and 2.9 million in 2023, according to data from the Atlas of MS in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO).

However, media interest in the disease has been accompanied by a wave of misinformation, ranging from the promotion of “miracle” treatments that have not proven effective, to exaggeration of limited preliminary research results and presenting anecdotal experiences as proven scientific facts.

However, media interest in the disease has been accompanied by a wave of misinformation, ranging from the promotion of “miracle” treatments that have not proven effective, to exaggeration of limited preliminary research results and presenting anecdotal experiences as proven scientific facts.

This report looks into the most prominent of the misleading claims made about MS circulating in both traditional and digital media. It examines their credibility, using scientific evidence and medical references, with the aim of promoting responsible reporting on health issues and to combat misinformation, which can have a direct impact on patient treatment and quality of life.

The impact of breastfeeding on multiple sclerosis

On February 3, 2020, Mohamed Faid who describes himself as a “therapeutic nutrition expert,” informed the 2.56 million subscribers to his YouTube channel that autoimmune diseases, like MS, did not exist before the 1970s, claiming that not breastfeeding a child was a major cause of the disease.

Medical research refutes such a claim. A study published in the journal Neurological Sciences in October 2009 shows that the first known case of MS was recorded in 1822 in Augustus d’Esté, a grandson of Britain’s King George III. A study in the peer-reviewed journal Clinical Medicine & Research in 2003 also showed that MS was first described in 19th century and was officially diagnosed in England in 1873 by Dr William Moxon and in the US in 1878 by Dr Edward Seguin.

As for breastfeeding, there is no conclusive scientific evidence that links it to MS. A study published in the peer-reviewed journal Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders in 2024 finds that breastfeeding may reduce the risk of MS in infants with a family history of the disease, noting that this protective effect is limited to males. Another study, published in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Neurology in December 2019, suggests that breastfeeding may protect women with MS against a relapse after giving birth.

Do stress and pressure on the vertebrae cause MS?

One of the most widely circulated claims regarding MS - that it is caused by “stress and pressure on the vertebrae” - is promoted by Mohammed Al-Amri, who describes himself as a “specialist in bee sting therapy.”

In an interview on the “Sayidati” program, broadcast by Rotana Khalejia TV, Al-Amiri said: “I call multiple sclerosis vertebral sclerosis,” adding that, in his opinion, MS is caused by stress, which can put pressure on the vertebrae, which in turn puts pressure on the nerves.

Scientific reports contradict Al-Amiri's claim, however. According to the US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), MS is a chronic autoimmune disease affecting the nerve fibres within the central nervous system. Therefore, damage to the vertebrae, whether due to stress or other causes, is unrelated to MS.

Furthermore, studies have found that invasive and mechanical treatment to the veins of patients, spinal compression, or muscle and spinal tension, are ineffective and not recommended. A report in September 2018 by the American Academy of Neurology (ANN), for example, concluded that surgery to dilate the jugular vein was not recommended for improving the symptoms of MS.

Muhammad Al-Amri, in his interview and on his X account, has also promoted the treatment of MS using live bee stings, a claim that goes against documented scientific sources, such a 2005 ANN study in 2005, which concluded that using bee stings did not reduce the severity of MS in those affected, or improve their quality of life.

Although another more recent study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Neuropeptides in October 2024, described bee venom as a promising treatment for diseases of the central nervous system, it also concluded that live bee stings pose a greater risk of severe allergic reaction. Overall, neither this nor other studies are conclusive about the potential use of bee stings to directly treat MS.

Camel urine: an unproven treatment for multiple sclerosis

For many years, camel urine has been widely claimed to have therapeutic benefits in various medical conditions. MS has become one of the diseases targeted for treatment with camel urine, according to physician and author Jaber Al-Qahtani. He told the program “Mawzoon,” on Al Majd Scientific Channel on August 21, 2023, that a study by a researcher named “Hanan,” at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia, had proved that camel milk and urine could cure MS and other diseases.

We looked for the study Al-Qahtani referred to and found it to be a thesis submitted by researcher Hanan Muhammad Alkabkabi for a master’s degree at King Abdulaziz University and published in 2016. According to its abstract this thesis does not directly look into the effect of camel urine on MS. Instead, it tests the pharmacological safety of the active ingredient in camel urine through laboratory tests on mice.

The thesis concludes that laboratory results show that “camel urine and its active ingredient can be considered safe, even when administered to mice for long periods.” But it does point out the need for further study to verify the “positive results” on organs such as the heart, brain, and lymphatic system.

So, this thesis itself emphasises the need for further research into the effect of the active ingredient in camel urine on the brain, the primary organ affected by MS, a disease that affects the nervous system in the brain and spinal cord.

Neither the WHO, NINDS nor other institutions dealing with MS have updated their definition of the condition as a chronic neurological disease with no definitive cure.

It is significant that King Abdulaziz University deleted from its website the thesis, entitled “Assessment of the Safety of Camel Urine and Its Active Fraction in Cell Cultures and on Experimental Animals.”

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic immune disease

Modern treatments are constantly being developed for MS. Although these can slow the progression of the disease and improve patients' quality of life, they do not offer a definitive solution to their suffering.

Claims of “miracle” cures and alternative explanations for MS with no basis in evidence raise the danger of misinformation driving some patients towards making risky choices. This underlines the urgent need for a reliance on trusted medical research sources, not misinformation, to protect public health.

This report was produced as one of the graduation projects for the Arab Fact-Checkers Network’s (AFCN) “ARIJ Fact-Checking Diploma 2025.”