Scientists’ cell find brings hope of new MS treatment

Published on 17/08/2012 00:00

IMMUNE cells once believed to have caused multiple sclerosis can actually protect people against it, experts have ­discovered.

The findings offers hope of new treatments for the illness which is suffered by one in 500 people living in Scotland.

Previous studies have found a type of immune cell, dendritic cells, contributed to the development of the disease.

But a new study has found transfusing these cells into the blood can actually protect someone against MS. Researchers behind the study say the same method could also treat other autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis and bowel conditions.

Dr Ari Waisman, of Germany’s Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, said the findings could “change our fundamental understanding of the origins of multiple sclerosis” and lead to new treatments for the disease.

He said: “By transfusing dendritic cells into the blood, it may be possible to reduce autoimmunity and serve as an effective intervention for the disease.

“Beyond MS, I can easily imagine this approach could be applied to other autoimmune diseases.”

His team studied immune cells called T cells which trigger the disease after they are activated by other immune cells called antigen-presenting cells.

Scotland has the highest incidence of MS in the world.