The study suggests a way of helping the brain repair damage Scientists have identified a way of prompting nerve system repair in multiple sclerosis (MS).Studies on rats by Cambridge and Edinburgh University researchers identified how to help stem cells in the brain regenerate myelin sheath, needed to protect nerve fibres.
MS charities said the "exciting" Nature Neuroscience work offered hope of restoring physical functions.
But they cautioned it would be some years before treatments were developed.
MS is caused by a defect in the body's immune system, which turns in on itself, and attacks the fatty myelin sheath.
It is thought to affect around 100,000 people in the UK.
Around 85% have the relapsing/remitting form of the condition, in which "flare-ups" which cause disability, are followed by a recovery of a level of the lost physical function.
In this form of MS, there does appear to be some natural myelin repair.
However, around 10% of people are diagnosed with a progressive form of MS, where the decline continues without any periods of remission.
In addition, people with the relapsing/remitting form do often go on to develop what is called secondary progressive MS, which affects them in the same way.
'Missing link' Scientists have been looking at how they might develop treatments for these two groups.
In MS, loss of the myelin sheaths which act as insulating layers, leads to the nerve fibres in the brain becoming damaged.
These fibres are important as they send messages to other parts of the body.
This study identified a signalling pathway in the brain which can encourage the brain's own stem cells to regenerate the fibres.
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote
For people with MS this is one of the most exciting developments in recent years. ”
End Quote Simon Gillespie, Chief executive of the MS Society, which part-funded the research They also showed how this mechanism can be exploited to make the brain's own stem cells better able to regenerate new myelin. The scientists believe this will help in identifying drugs to encourage myelin repair in MS patients.
However, much more work is needed - both to test if the mechanism works in people with MS and to see what drugs might be needed to promote the effect.
Professor Charles ffrench-Constant, of the University of Edinburgh's MS Society Centre for MS Research, said: "The aim of our research is to slow the progression of MS with the eventual aim of stopping and reversing it.
"This discovery is very exciting as it could potentially pave the way to find drugs that could help repair damage caused to the important layers that protect nerve cells in the brain."
Professor Robin Franklin, director of the MS Society's Centre for Myelin Repair at the University of Cambridge, said: "Therapies that repair damage are the missing link in treating MS.
"In this study we have identified a means by which the brain's own stem cells can be encouraged to undertake this repair, opening up the possibility of a new regenerative medicine for this devastating disease."
The study was funded by the MS Society and the National MS Society in the US.
Simon Gillespie, chief executive of the MS Society, which part-funded the research, said: "For people with MS this is one of the most exciting developments in recent years.
"It's hard to put into words how revolutionary this discovery could be and how critical it is to continue research into MS."
Pam Macfarlane, chief executive of the MS Trust added: "Exploration of processes that might repair areas of damage to myelin, is another important area of MS research and this may eventually allow people to recover function that has been lost to disability.
"This is still an early study in rodents but it will be very interesting to see how it develops."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11913689
The study suggests a way of helping the brain repair damage “Start Quote
End Quote Simon Gillespie, Chief executive of the MS Society, which part-funded the researchFor people with MS this is one of the most exciting developments in recent years. ”
دراسة تقدم أملاً بـ 'إصلاح' خلل يصيب الدماغ
الدراسة تضفي أملاً جديداً بعلاج المرضى بهذا المرض
توصل علماء إلى وسيلة لدفع النظام العصبي إلى اصلاح الضرر في الدماغ والذي يتسبب به ما يعرف بـ "التصلب العصبي المتعدد".
وقد أجرى العلماء في جامعتي كامبريدج وأدنبرة تجارب على فئران، وأظهرت كيفية إمكانية تحفيز الخلايا في المخ لانتاج مادة المايلين، اللازمة لحماية الألياف العصبية.
وأبدت الجمعيات الخيرية المعنية في مرض التصلب العصبي سعادتها في الدراسة التي جاءت بأمل جديد لدى المرضى في استعادة الوظائف البدنية. الا انهم حذروا من ان تطوير العلاجات قد يحتاج لبضع سنوات قبل اكتماله.
يحدث مرض التصلب العصبي المتعدد بسبب خلل في نظام المناعة في الجسم، حيث يهاجم مادة المايلين الدهنية.
ويعتقد أن هناك نحو مائة ألف شخص في بريطانيا مصاب بالمرض.
ونحو 85 بالمائة منهم هم ممن يصفون بأن لديهم الانتكاس والنشاط المتكرر، والذي يتسبب الإعاقة.
وفي هذا الشكل من مرض التصلب العصبي المتعدد، يبدو أنه يمكن إصلاح المايلين طبيعياً عبر تحفيزه.
ومع ذلك، تم تشخيص نحو 10 بالمائة من هؤلاء الأشخاص الذين يعانون من مرض التصلب العصبي المتعدد من الشكل التدريجي، حيث لا يشهدون أي انتكاس، ونشاطات متكررة.
'الحلقة المفقودة'
وقد كان العلماء يبحثون في الكيفية التي يمكن تطوير علاجات لمرض التصلب العصبي المتعدد، وفقدان المايلين.
وقد حددت هذه الدراسة وسيلة لإرسال إشارات في المخ والتي يمكن أن تشجع خلايا المخ الخاصة إلى تجديد الألياف.
كما اظهرت الدراسة كيف يمكن استغلال هذه الآلية لجعل خلايا المخ الخاصة أقدر على تجديد المايلين.
ويعتقد العلماء ان هذا سوف يساعد في تحديد العلاجات لتشجيع إصلاح المايلين في مرضى التصلب المتعدد.
ومع ذلك ، هناك حاجة إلى العمل سواء لاختبار المرضى التي تصلح معهم هذه الآلية، واختبار نوعية العلاجات المساعدة.
ويذكر أن الدراسة أجريت بدعم من جمعيات خيرية أميركية معنية بالمرض.
ويقول بام ماكفارلين، الرئيس التنفيذي لصندوق مرض التصلب العصبي المتعدد: "استكشاف العمليات التي يمكنها إصلاح الأضرار التي لحقت بانتاج المايلين، هو مجال هام آخر للبحوث وهو ما قد يسمح في النهاية للناس باستعادة وظائفهم الجسدية التي فقدوها بالإعاقة".
وأضاف " ما تزال الدراسة في وقت مبكر منها، ولكن سيكون من المثير جدا أن نرى كيف تتطور".
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