June 5, 2019 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Blocking a Chemical Modification May Help Halt Inflammation in MS, Mouse Study Suggests The pro-inflammatory protein interleukin-17 (IL-17) drives inflammation by promoting a chemical modification, called phosphorylation, in the RNA molecule of the regnase-1 enzyme, a mouse study shows. These findings support the development of therapeutics that block the phosphorylation of regnase-1 to halt IL-17-mediated inflammation, as seen in multiple…
May 23, 2016 News by InĆŖs Martins, PhD Relapses Prevented in Multiple Sclerosis Mouse Model Researchers at theĀ University of Heidelberg, Germany, recently showed that peripheral blood cells loaded with a drug that resembles the myelin protein are able to inhibit harmful immune responses and prevent relapses in a mouse model of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). The findings were described in the study “…
April 28, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Cognitive Difficulties Known to MS Traced to Problems in Nerve Cell Activity in Hippocampus In a study published in the International Neurology Journal, researchers showed that cognitive deficits, such as memory problems, in a rat model of multiple sclerosis (MS) are mirrored by changes in synaptic transmission and plasticity in the hippocampus, a brain region crucial for memory processing. The findings…
April 11, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Natalizumab (Tysabri) Targets Molecule Crucial for Type of B-Cell to Accumulate in the Brain Mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), were found to have milder symptoms if the target of natalizumab (Tysabri) ā VLA4 ā was absent on B-cells, preventing regulatory cells that might control immune processes from entering the brain. B-cells are increasingly thought to play…
March 30, 2016 News by Margarida Azevedo, MSc Oral MS Drug Derived from Plant Peptide Seen to Stop Disease Progression in Mice Researchers, working with an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), discovered that oral treatment with a synthesized plant peptide, known as cyclotide, halted the progression of clinical symptoms without side effects. The findingĀ offers new hope for the development of an easily available and orally deliverable treatment that mightĀ slow or even…
January 13, 2016 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD MS Progression Halted Using Stem Cells Derived from Gum Tissue A new source of stem cells, the mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) isolated from the human periodontal ligament (hPDLSCs), offers a potential treatmentĀ capable of halting multiple sclerosis (MS) progression. The study, āAlternative source of stem cells derived from human periodontal ligament: a new treatment for experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis,ā was published…