Hope for MS sufferers as city scientist nears breakthrough

AN Edinburgh scientist is nearing a breakthrough that will revolutionise the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis and change the lives of generations of future sufferers.

Edinburgh University's Professor Charles ffrench-Constant, whose work has largely been funded with 2 million from the author JK Rowling, below, is working on a way of using stem cells to halt the deterioration of sufferers.

He is carrying out tests on mice and rats to try to find a way of using the cells to repair damage to the brain.

Combined with the earliest possible detection of MS in patients, Prof ffrench-Constant's work offers the best hope of eradicating its devastating effect on patients.

He recently appeared in a documentary made by journalist and MS sufferer Elizabeth Quigley, who sees his tests as a possible "cure", although sadly for future generations rather than herself.

Prof ffrench-Constant, head of the Edinburgh University Centre for Translational Research, is reluctant to talk so boldly, but is confident that progress can be made in combating the disease which affects about 10,000 Scots.

He said: "We need to identify targets – molecules that contribute to the repair process in the brain. We have identified one interesting new candidate and are progressing with that, as well as trying to identify others.

"Once we have a positive target we have to see if it is present in patients with MS, we can't assume that just because it's worked on rats and mice.

"The MS Society has a brain bank with lots of tissues from people who have died from MS. If it is present we would run tests to see whether manipulating the target would have the result we hope. Then we would have the long, complicated process of developing the drug."

This means a treatment being available to patients in the UK is likely to be ten or 15 years away, although, for many people living with a history of MS in their family that will be a comforting thought.

Where MS comes from and what triggers it remains a mystery, but it is believed to be at least partly hereditary.

It is sometimes known as the "Scottish disease" as this country has the highest concentration in the world. It can also be found abroad in areas which have a large Scottish community.

Countries with a similar latitude to Scotland also have high rates of MS, suggesting that temperature or sunlight could be a factor, and childhood illnesses are also common among sufferers who develop MS in later life.

About 85,000 people in the UK suffer from MS, the result of damage to myelin, which blocks signals from the brain, prohibiting things like movement and speech.

A drug that could undo that damage remains the stuff of science fiction, but Prof ffrench-Constant believes something that could stop further degeneration is within reach.

This combined with early detection to ensure sufferers are treated when their health is still relatively good, could seriously limit the effect MS will have on future generations.

Ms Rowling, whose mother died in 1990 from respiratory problems linked to MS, has said: "It would mean everything to me if I thought that as a result even one person did not have to go through what my mother did."

Mark Hazelwood, director of MS Society Scotland, said: "The MS Society Scotland was delighted to be able to provide 2 million funding to help establish this important and groundbreaking centre in Edinburgh."