I recently came across thefollowing information about more recent research about Multiple Sclerosis mylein, thatthere is an enzyme that when reduced can slow the progression of Multiple Sclerosisin mice.
In the article entitled "Halting an Enzyme Can Slow Multiple Sclerosis inMice" in Science Daily (Apr. 30, 2012) - Researchersstudying Multiple Sclerosis (MS) have long been looking for the specificmolecules in the body that cause lesions in myelin, the fatty, insulating cellsthat sheathe the nerves.
Nearly a decade ago, a group at Mayo Clinic found anew enzyme, called Kallikrein 6, which is present in abundance in MS lesionsand blood samples and is associated with inflammation and demyelination inother neurodegenerative diseases. In a study published this month in BrainPathology, the same group found that an antibody that neutralizes Kallikrein 6is capable of staving off MS in mice.
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In the Science Daily article it went on to also say...We were able to slow the course of disease throughearly chronic stages, both in the brain and spinal cord," says lead authorIsobel Scarisbrick, Ph.D., of the Mayo Clinic Department of Physical Medicineand Rehabilitation.
Researchers looked at mice representing a viralmodel of MS. The model is based on the theory that infection with viralinfection early in life results in an eventual abnormal immune response in thebrain and spinal cord.
One week after being infected with a virus, the miceshowed elevated levels of Kallikrein 6 enzyme in the brain and spinal cord.
However, when researchers treated mice to produce an antibody capable ofblocking and neutralizing the enzyme, they saw a decrease in diseases effectingthe brain and spinal cord, including demyelination. The Kallikrein 6neutralizing antibody had reduced inflammatory white blood cells and slowed thedepletion of myelin basic protein, a key component of the myelin sheath.
The findings in the MS model have implications forother conditions affecting the brain and spinal cord.
The group has previouslyshown that the Kallikrein 6 enzyme, produced by immune cells, is elevated inspinal cord injury, while other studies have shown it to be elevated in animalmodels of stroke and patients with post-polio syndrome.
"These findings suggest Kallikrein 6 plays arole in the inflammatory and demyelinating processes that accompany many typesof neurological conditions," says Dr. Scarisbrick.
"In the earlychronic stages of some neurological diseases, Kallikrein 6 may represent a goodmolecule to target with drugs capable of neutralizing its effects."
Other authors include Hyesook Yoon, Ph.D., MichaelPanos, Nadya Larson, Ph.D., and Moses Rodriguez, M.D., all of Mayo Clinic; andSachiko I. Blaber and Michael Blaber, Ph.D., of Florida State University.
Thestudy was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Christopher and DanaReeves Paralysis Foundation, and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
The research in this area mayshow some promise in developing a therapy or treatment that may be able to helpreduce the Multiple Sclerosis mylein effects and damage, as well as the severe effects of Multiple Sclerosis on the body. Time will tell.
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