This insight focuses attention ona specific location for MS indicated damage. In the process established therapies are also strongly indicated thatcounter the effects of the implied damage. This has been a case of tracking back the effects of implied damage.
We are still a long ways from anactual cure or even to know if MS may be prevented.
Recent disclosures on concussiondamage among athletes are finally waking people up to the horrible priceindividuals are paying in order to succeed in certain games. A little damage in the right location canlikely produce MS.
The whole issue of head impact isnow coming front and center and will not end until sports are modified tohugely lower the risks.
The two worst team sports are Hockeyand Football. Hockey is easily fixed byending the body check once and for all. If anything the sport becomes more skill driven and naturallydynamic. The only alternative forfootball may be touch football and that is a very different game altogether.
The individual sport of boxing isby definition a concussion sport however conducted and really should beabandoned. The sad fate of Mohammed Alishould dispel any doubt on this matter.
The brain is way too important toplay roulette with as certain sports seem to demand. The head is not a weapon but the repository ofa jelly like material that easily rips and tears. Healing is possible if only one blow occurs,but unlikely if two blows occur in two separate directions. Real brain damage sets in and much rewiringis needed to set things right if at all.
I suspect that a teat for activebrain damage is indicated from this work. Apply it to sports injuries and we will soon see if certain sports areable to retain their players.
Released: 2/11/2011 11:20 AM EST
Newswise — Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago
The study is available online in the journal Brain.
The pathological processes in MS are not well understood, but animportant contributor to its progression is the infiltration of white bloodcells involved in immune defense through the blood-brain barrier.
Douglas Feinstein, research professor in anesthesiology at the UICCollege of Medicine, and his colleagues previously showed that theneurotransmitter noradrenaline plays an important role as an immunosuppressantin the brain, preventing inflammation and stress to neurons. Noradrenaline isalso known to help to preserve the integrity of the blood-brain barrier.
Because the major source of noradrenaline is neurons in an area of thebrain called the locus coeruleus, the UIC researchers hypothesized that damageto the LC was responsible for lowered levels of noradrenaline in the brains ofMS patients.
"There’s a lot of evidence of damage to the LC in Alzheimer’s andParkinson’s disease, but this is the first time that it has been demonstratedthat there is stress involved to the neurons in the LC of MS patients, and thatthere is a reduction in brain noradrenaline levels," said Paul Polak,research specialist in the health sciences in anesthesiology and first authoron the paper.
For the last 15 years, Feinstein and his colleagues have been studyingthe importance of noradrenaline to inflammatory processes in the brain.
"We have all the models for studying this problem, so in some waysit was a small step to look at this question in MS," said Polak.
The researchers found that LC damage and reduced levels ofnoradrenaline occur in a mouse model of MS and that similar changes could befound in the brains of MS patients.
The findings suggest that LC damage, accompanied by reduction innoradrenaline levels in the brain, may be a common feature of neurologic diseases,Polak said.
"There are a number of FDA-approved drugs that have been shown toraise levels of noradrenaline in the brain, and we believe that this type oftherapeutic intervention could benefit patients with MS and otherneurodegenerative diseases, and should be investigated," he said.
Sergey Kalinin, post-doctoral research associate in anesthesiology,also contributed to the study. This study was supported by grants from theDepartment of Veteran Affairs and Partners for Cures.
For more information about UIC, visit www.uic.edu
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