MS treatment goes one step further after drugs that have been shown to repair nerve coatings | Society

Doctors believe that after discovering a drug that repairs the coating around nerves damaged by the disease, it is closer to treating multiple sclerosis.

Clinical trials of the cancer drug bexarotene have shown that it repairs the protective myelin sheath that MS destroys. Loss of myelin causes a variety of neurological problems, including imbalance, vision, muscle disorders, and ultimately disorders.

Bexarotene cannot be used as a treatment, but because of the serious side effects, doctors behind this trial showed that the results could be “myelin sheath reshaping” in humans, other drugs or drugs It suggests that the combination of will stop MS.

“It’s a shame that this isn’t the drug we use, but the feasibility of the repair is exciting and gives us great hope for another trial starting this year,” he led the study at the university. Said Professor Alasdair Coles. Of Cambridge.

MS occurs when the immune system accidentally attacks the fatty myelin coating that wraps the nerves in the brain and spinal cord. In the absence of lipid-rich substances, signals travel more slowly along nerves and are interrupted or completely impassable. About 100,000 people live in this state in the UK.

Bexarotene was evaluated in a phase 2a trial using brain scans to monitor changes in damaged neurons in patients with recurrent MS, funded by the MS Society. This is an early stage of a condition that precedes a secondary progressive disease in which neurons disappear and cause permanent damage.

The drug had serious side effects that could cause dangerous inflammation of the pancreas, from thyroid disease to elevated blood fat levels. However, brain scans revealed that neurons had regrown myelin sheaths, and there were findings confirmed by tests showing that the signals sent from the retina to the posterior visual cortex of the brain were accelerated. .. “It can only be achieved by myelin sheath reshaping,” Coles said.

Details of the work were announced at MS Virtual 2020 on Friday. MSVirtual2020 is a joint meeting of the European Commission on the treatment and research of multiple sclerosis and its counterparts in the Americas.

Bexarotene does not participate in Phase 3 trials of MS, but the discovery that the nervous system can be stimulated to re-stimulate damaged neurons gives scientists new hope for another trial they want to start later this year. I did. The study will monitor the effects of the antidiabetic drug metformin combined with the antihistamine clemastine by Professor Robin Franklin of the Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute. Showed last year It can cause myelin sheath reshaping in animals.

Metformin functions by rejuvenating stem cells of the central nervous system and then becomes myelin-producing cells called oligodendrocytes. These created fresh myelin to replace the myelin destroyed by MS. Researchers hope that this combination of drugs will at least slow the progression of the disease, but it may completely prevent further damage to neurons.

“The results of this trial convince us that drugs that promote myelin regeneration have a real impact on the treatment of MS. We look forward to the results of future trials that will increase optimism.” Franklin said.

Dr. Emma Gray of the MS Society said: “Finding a cure to stop the progression of MS is our number one priority, and it requires ways to protect nerves from damage and repair lost myelin. This new study will make MS It is a major milestone in our plan to stop and we are incredibly excited about the potential it will be presented for future research. “