In Vitro Results May Show Promise for MS Patients
ST. PAUL, MN (January 29, 1999) -- A new strategy tested in cell cultures may offer hope for people with multiple sclerosis. A new drug can promote the growth of myelin, the protective layer surrounding nerve fibers that is damaged in MS, according to a study published in the current issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
French researchers added the drug eliprodil to cultures containing animal models of central nervous system myelin. The drug doubled the amount of myelination in the standard culture.
"These results have to be confirmed in animal tests, but this strategy is certainly very promising," said study author and neurologist Catherine Lubetzki, MD, PhD, of the unit of INSERM, the French national institute of health and medical research, at Salpetriere Hospital in Paris. "Although we obviously must discover how to stop the process that causes demyelination, it may be that this new strategy could limit the progression of the disease."
In the cultures, the myelin wraps around axons, the long extensions that send impulses away from the neurons. In an acute attack of multiple sclerosis, the most obvious abnormality is inflammation with a loss of myelin in the brain and spinal cord. However, studies have recently shown that long-term disability in MS may relate to damage to the axons.
Other research has demonstrated that in MS plaques, or areas of damage to the brain and spinal cord, cells attempt to replace lost myelin, but the repairs are not enough to prevent the progress of the disease. In addition, studies show that signals sent by axons are necessary in myelination, so they may also be required for remyelination, Lubetzki said.
Eliprodil was first developed as a drug to protect neurons, the cells that give off axons. "Other neuroprotective agents like eliprodil may be promising for MS, both to prevent damage to neurons and to aid the cells' own efforts at remyelination by maintaining the axons' signals," Lubetzki said.
Lubetzki said other neuroprotective agents should be tested for their ability to promote the growth of myelin. Additional studies are also needed to investigate how eliprodil works within the brain to cause the growth of myelin, she said.
The study was supported in part by the French company Synthelabo Recherche, manufacturer of eliprodil. Eliprodil is not available commercially. The study was also supported by INSERM and ARSEP, the French MS society.
MS affects at least 300,000 Americans. Symptoms can include weakness, unsteady gait, double vision, fatigue and partial or complete paralysis.
Improving care for patients with multiple sclerosis and other neurological disorders is the goal of the American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 15,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals.
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Editor's Note: Neurology is now published 18 times per year, with two issues in January, March, April, July, September and October. This study is published in the second January issue.
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