'DIY repair' protein may be key to MS cure, say scientists

Published on Monday 24 August 2009 22:16

SCIENTISTS trying to find a treatment to prevent multiple sclerosis have made a major breakthrough by using a brain protein to protect mice from developing the disease.

Although researchers at Bristol University say it may take ten years before the discovery leads to a new generation of drugs, they believe the results are "very encouraging". A spokesman for the Multiple Sclerosis Society Scotland welcomed the development yesterday.

Professor David Wynick, who led the Bristol team, said mice that were given increased levels of the neuropeptide – or protein – galanin had proved resistant to the disease.

He said: "The levels of galanin are much higher in the brains of patients with MS.

"We weren't sure why that was, so we used an animal model of MS and showed that, if we increase the levels of this protein in the brains of mice, they are completely resistant to the development of the disease.

"So we concluded that in MS patients, the levels of protein are elevated as it is trying to protect the brain from damage."

Describing the results as remarkable, he added: "We don't know why it happens, but it is a terrible disease and anything we can do that slows down or stops its progression will be a major step forward. We have a lot more to do to figure out how this works but the results are extremely promising."

Dr Doug Brown, research manager at the MS Society, said: "This is an early study and there's a long way to go before we understand what this means for people with MS, but any insight into how MS might be treated is valuable to researchers. This is worth further investigation."

Professor Charles ffrench-Constant, director of the University of Edinburgh Multiple Sclerosis Research Centre, said the findings about the effects of galanin on the brain sounded significant.

"I do think this is an important area of research. The study of naturally occurring chemicals in the brain is an important line of inquiry for MS.

"A number of groups have found proteins that promote, repair or limit the damage to the brain – which we now know must have the capacity to repair itself."

Professor ffrench-Constant said he believed that finding new drugs which could promote the brain's ability to self-repair could transform the lives of MS sufferers.

He said: "We need to get people early on in the course of the disease and to give them drugs which stop the damage or which promote repair."

SCOTLAND has the highest per-capita rate of multiple sclerosis in the world.

According to the MS Society Scotland there are 10,000 cases in Scotland – which amounts to about one in every 500 people.

The incidence of MS seems to increase in areas further away from the equator – leading to suggestions that it is linked to vitamin D deficiency.

But there have also been suggestions that there may be a Scottish gene that makes people more susceptible.

The disease is debilitating and unpredictable and there is no known cure. It is caused by damage to the myelin covering that protects nerves.

The disease causes sufferers to lose strength and often leads to failing eyesight. Sometimes the disease is progressive but in other people it is characterised by remission and relapse.

The mother of JK Rowling suffered from MS and the writer has donated substantial amounts to fund research into the disease.