January 18, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Synapses in CNS may be important in myelin production, per MS study Junctions between nerve cells and certain cells called oligodendrocyte precursor cells, or OPCs, in the brain and spinal cord may play an important role in producing myelin, the protective substance that’s progressively lost in multiple sclerosis (MS), new research suggests. OPCs are abundant in the brain and spinal…
January 16, 2024 News by Margarida Maia, PhD $24M in financing to advance treatments to protect myelin sheath Myrobalan Therapeutics has secured $24 million in series A financing to support the development of oral medications for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), which comprises the brain and spinal cord. The companyās pipeline currently includes three candidate therapies…
November 7, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Blocking NLRP3 inflammasome eases MS severity in mouse model Blocking the activity of a protein complex called the NLRP3 inflammasome lessened disease severity in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study reports. Results point to NLRP3 as a promising target to ease inflammation in people with MS, but additional studies will be needed to determine the…
July 6, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Myelin may promote nerve cell damage in early immune attacks Nerve cells coated with myelin ā the fatty substance that’s lost in multiple sclerosis (MS) ā may be more vulnerable to degeneration in an inflammatory environment than cells lacking myelin, researchers working in MS patient tissues and mouse models report. The scientists believe the phenomenon arises when certain…
February 13, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS ‘Mini-brain’ models point to poorer oligodendrocyte growth in PPMS Using stem cells derived from people with multiple sclerosis (MS), researchers developed cerebral organoids, or “mini-brains,” to better study the cellular and molecular mechanisms leading to the neurodegenerative disorder. Initial analysis showed that patient-derived stem cells, especially those from people with primary progressive MS (PPMS), tend to be…
December 20, 2022 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Frequency Names Advisory Board to Guide Remyelination Work for MS Frequency Therapeutics has established a clinical advisory board, with experts across neuroscience fields, to help guide its small molecule treatment candidate for remyelination inĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) into clinical testing. The company is planning to initiate a first trial of the molecule, designed to boost remyelination ā the…
August 22, 2022 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD MS Spasticity Therapy Baclofen Helps to Repair Myelin: Early Study Baclofen, an approved therapy for spasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, promoted the repair of myelin ā the protective sheath around nerve fibers that’s progressively lost in MS ā in a mouse model of the disease, a study showed. These findings suggest baclofen ā sold as oral tablets,…
June 27, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Proteins Called Tenascins Found to Block Myelin Repair in Mouse Model Proteins called tenascins block the regeneration of myelin by modulating the activity of oligodendrocytes, myelin-making cells of the central nervous system, a study in mouse modelsĀ indicates. “Our research results open up new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis,” Juliane Bauch, a researcher at Ruhr-University…
March 8, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Immune Reaction to Milk Protein May Explain Dairy’s Link to MS Immune system reaction to casein, a protein in cow’s milk, can trigger an inflammatory neurological disease in mice that’s similar to multiple sclerosis (MS) and includes the loss of myelin, a study reported. “These results identify how consumption of milk and milk products may exacerbate the autoimmune response in…
October 19, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ECTRIMS2021 ā Nrg-1-treated Immune Cells Can Promote Myelin Repair Editorās note: TheĀ Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the virtual 37th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), Oct. 13ā15. GoĀ hereĀ to see the latest stories from the conference. A…
September 24, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Cancer Researchers’ Discovery May Benefit MS Studies In an unexpected discovery, scientists working to understand the biological underpinnings of brain tumors found that increasing the activity of a protein receptor called PDGFRA reduces the production of myelin ā the fatty coating that is lost in multiple sclerosis (MS) ā in the nervous system. “We saw that…
September 13, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Pro-inflammatory Th17 Immune Cells Harm Myelin-producing Cells Pro-inflammatory T helper 17 cells, known as Th17 cells ā a type of immune cell known to play a role in multiple sclerosis (MS) ā directly interact with myelin-producing cells, promoting their damage and death, according to a study in a mouse model of MS and in samples from…
August 27, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Way Seen to Counter Blood-clotting Molecule That Blocks Myelin Repair Blocking a particular receptor protein of the BMP signaling pathway effectively promoted the maturation of myelin-producing cells and myelin repair in two mouse models of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study showed. Notably, these benefits, observed even after disease onset, took place in the presence of fibrinogen, a blood clotting…
July 28, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Signaling Protein Seen to Help Promote Myelin-making Cells A signaling protein called fractalkine helps to regulate the development of oligodendrocytes, cells of the nervous system responsible for making myelin ā the protecting coating of nerve cell fibers that is damaged and lost inĀ multiple sclerosis (MS). This finding was in the study, “Fractalkine signaling regulates…
June 14, 2021 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Scientists Discover Enzyme Needed for Activating Myelin Repair The enzyme TET1, which is progressively lost with age, is essential to activate genes needed to repair myelin ā the sheath around nerve cells that is damaged in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) ā a study in mice has found. The…
May 10, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS New 3D Model May Help in Promoting Myelin, Preventing Its Loss A new 3D model of the human nervous system is meant to mimic key processes in the development of the myelin sheath ā the fatty coating around nerve cells that is damaged in multiple sclerosis (MS)Ā ā to help with research into treatments that promote myelination. This model might also…
April 8, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Mertk Gene Plays Key Role in Myelin Repair, Mouse Study Finds A gene called Mertk has important roles in the repair of myelin, the fatty substance that surrounds and protects neurons and that is lost in multiple sclerosis (MS). The findings were published inĀ Cell Press, in the study “Multiple sclerosis risk gene Mertk is required for…
April 2, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Protecting Myelin-producing Cells From Inflammation May Be Key to Treating MS Prolonging a cellular defense mechanism shown to restore myelin ā the protective sheath around nerve cell fibers that is lost in multiple sclerosis (MS) ā may be key to treating the neurodegenerative disease, a study in MS mouse models suggests. That defense mechanism, called integrated stress response (ISR), helps…
March 12, 2021 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Mouse Study Finds Potential Treatment for Myelin Repair for MS, Aging A decline in the activity of the GPR17 gene is responsible for age-related brain deterioration caused by the loss of myelin, a fatty substance that surrounds nerve cells like a sheath, a mouse study discovered. Researchers identified a small molecule that rejuvenated…
February 26, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ACTRIMS2021 – Young Brain Fluid (CSF) Rejuvenates Memory in Mice Editorās note: TheĀ Multiple Sclerosis News Today news team is providing in-depth and unparalleled coverage of the virtual ACTRIMS Forum 2021, Feb. 25-27. GoĀ hereĀ to see all the latest stories from the conference. Factors in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) surrounding the brain and spinal cord change with age and can affect…
January 4, 2021 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Boosting Cholesterol Recycling in Brain Facilitates Myelin Repair, Study Says New research in mice suggests that poor recycling of cholesterol in the brain impairs the repair of myelin, the protective coat surrounding nerve cells that is lost in multiple sclerosis (MS). Pharmacological stimulation of cholesterol synthesis by brain immune cells ā called microglia ā boosted the regeneration of myelin,…
December 7, 2020 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Prenatal Stress Linked to Worse MS Outcomes in Adulthood in Mouse Study Exposure to stress before birth can worsen the clinical symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) during adulthood, a study in a mouse model of MS suggested. Investigators also found that prenatal stress can change the levels of a protein critical for neurological development, called…
November 17, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD Scientists Create Oligodendrocytes From Stem Cells in Lab Dish in Just Three Weeks Scientists have createdĀ myelin-producing cells, called oligodendrocytes, from pluripotent stem cells derived from patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in just three weeks. They also demonstrated these lab-made oligodendrocytes were able to produce myelin ā the fatty substance that normally wraps around neuronsā…
October 9, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Simple Sugar Molecule May Be Potential Myelin-repairing Therapy for MS Oral administration of N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) ā a natural simple sugar sold as a dietary supplement ā preventsĀ myelin degeneration and loss of motor function in a mouse model of multiple sclerosisĀ (MS). Myelin,Ā the protective sheath around nerve fibers that helps to speed transmission of signals between nerve cells, isĀ damaged…
October 6, 2020 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Pathway and Its Proteins Found to Control Myelin Repair, Renewal A pathway controlled by three proteins ā Daam2, Nedd4, and VHL ā was identified by researchersĀ as a key regulator of myelin production during central nervous system development and regeneration after injury. Myelin,Ā the protective fatty layer that covers nerve fibers and helps to speed transmission of signals between nerve cells,…
September 15, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD #MSVirtual2020 ā Remyelination Mainly Conducted by Pre-existing Myelin-producing Cells, Study Finds Remyelination ā or the restoration of lost myelin, the protective sheath surrounding nerve cell fibers ā in multiple sclerosis (MS) depends mainly on pre-existing oligodendrocytes (myelin-producing cells), rather than on newly-generated oligodendrocytes, according to a recent study. The data also showed that perineuronal, or satellite,…
September 11, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD #MSVirtual2020 – Tolebrutinib Prevents Myelin Loss in Mouse Model of MS-like Demyelination Tolebrutinib (SAR442168), an investigational oral BTK inhibitorĀ to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), was seen to prevent the loss of myelinĀ when given to a mouse model of demyelination in a preclinical study. The investigative therapy achieves this by preventing…
August 20, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Cashew Molecule Promotes Remyelination, Halts Disease Progression in MS Mice Anacardic acid, a compound found in cashew nuts, promotedĀ myelinĀ regeneration and eased neuronal damage and disability in two mouse models of multiple sclerosisĀ (MS). These protective effects were associated with maturation of myelin-producing cells and production of IL-33, an immune-related molecule with a neuroreparative role in the central…
August 18, 2020 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Gsta4 Protein Promotes Myelin Repair, Prevents Symptoms in MS Rat Model A protein known as Gsta4 is critical in the growth and activity of oligodendrocytes, a special type of brain cell that generates the myelin sheath that is damaged in multiple sclerosis (MS), a study shows. The overproduction of Gsta4 in…
June 12, 2020 News by Vanessa Pataia Autobahn Therapeutics Opens, Aims to Treat MS by Restoring Myelin Autobahn Therapeutics announced its launch with $76 million in financing to support work on therapies forĀ central nervous system (CNS) disorders, includingĀ ABX-002, its lead candidate to treat diseases marked by the loss of myelin,Ā such asĀ …