Key to Repairing MS Damage Found

Suddenly we can use the body’s stem cellsto reverse the damage caused by MS.  Wecan speculate a lot further and presume that we are also close to reversingbrain damage.  So many lives have beencrippled by MS and similar problems and the ability to reverse these problemsis extremely important.  Recall that thebiggest medical burden placed on society and unlucky families comes fromchronic ailments.  The care is nevershort in time and human effort.

Thus when I see these changes happening, itis easy to see we are rapidly approaching a medical revolution in which chronicconditions are reversed and all such individuals will be able bodied atleast.  Short term ailments will stillbite as will reckless behavior. But their costs are generally manageable andbrief.

We are not talking a lot of years hereeither.  The sheer velocity of change isrising and I expect to see the light in the end of the tunnel for just abouteverything inside the next decade.

Scientistsfind key to repairing MS damage

Monday, December 6 02:28 pm

Researcherssaid they may have found a way to reverse damage in the central nervous systemcaused by multiple sclerosis, in a study hailed by campaigners as a majorbreakthrough.

The study by scientists at the universities of Cambridge and Edinburghhas raised hopes of a new treatment within 15 years for the disablingneurological condition, which affects millions of people worldwide.

The team identified a mechanism essential to regeneratingmyelin sheaths -- the layers of insulation that protect nerve fibres in thebrain -- and showed how it could be used to make the brain's own stem cells undertake this repair.

The loss of myelin in MS sufferers leads to damageto the nerve fibres in the brain that send messages to other parts of the body,leading to symptoms ranging from mild numbness to crippling paralysis.

"Therapies that repair damage are the missinglink in treating multiple sclerosis," said Professor Robin Franklin,director of the MS Society's Cambridge Centrefor Myelin Repair at the University of Cambridge.

"In this study we have identified a means bywhich the brain's own stem cells can be encouraged to undertake this repair,opening up the possibility of a new regenerative medicine for this devastatingdisease."

Britain's MS Society, which part funded theresearch along with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in the UnitedStates, hailed the study and said it could lead to clinical trials within fiveyears and treatment within 15 years.

"For people with MS this is one of the mostexciting developments in recent years," said chief executive SimonGillespie.

"It?s hard to put into words howrevolutionary this discovery could be and how critical it is to continueresearch into MS."

The research, published in the journal NatureNeuroscience, identified a specific type of molecule called RXR-gamma, whichappears to be important in promoting myelin repair.

The team found that stimulating RXR-gamma in ratsencouraged the brain's own stem cells to regenerate myelin.