Compound Protects Nerves from Injury in
National MS Society-funded Study of Mice with Progressive MS
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Medical Update Memo
March 27, 2008
SUMMARY
Researchers report that an experimental compound
(a derivative of fullerene, a form of carbon
molecule) reduced disease progression, as
well as damage to nerve fibres and their
myelin insulation, when administered to mice
with a progressive MS-like disease. Alexandre
Basso, PhD, Howard Weiner, PhD (Brigham and
Women’s Hospital, Boston) and colleagues
report these findings in The Journal of Clinical
Investigation (early online publication,
March 13, 2008). The study was partly funded
by a National MS Society research grant.
DETAILS
Currently, few treatment options exist for
progressive stages of MS. The disability
seen in progressive forms of MS is thought
to be
caused by degeneration of nerve fibres.
This team is testing the effects of “ABS-75,” a
fullerene derivative that combines the power
of an anti-oxidant with a compound that can
block the activity of the natural chemical
glutamate, a nerve transmitter that in excess
can cause injury. Fullerenes have been shown
to protect nerve fibres from injury in some
rodent models of stroke, and ABS-75 in particular
has been shown to enter the brain efficiently.
The Boston team administered ABS-75 to mice
after inducing a chronic, progressive form
of EAE similar to secondary-progressive MS*.
Treatment reduced symptom progression, as well
as nerve fibre loss and myelin damage in the
spinal cord. In rat nerve cells isolated in
the laboratory, ABS-75 also protected the cells
from a type of injury caused by glutamate.
Glutamate levels are increased in progressive
forms of MS and there is evidence to suggest
that this represents a mechanism by which nerve
cell degeneration occurs in MS.
Because other drugs that block glutamate activity
have been shown to affect memory functions,
the team also performed experiments to determine
if treatment had an impact on memory, and found
no impairment after 40 days of treatment.
This novel study represents a different approach
to preventing the progressive stages of MS.
More research is needed to determine whether
this new approach to treating MS would be effective
and safe in people.
*SP MS: Secondary-progressive MS, an initial
period of relapsing-remitting MS, followed
by a steadily worsening disease course with
or without occasional flare-ups or minor recoveries.
[With information from the National MS Society
(USA)]
ASK MS Information System Code: 1.4.2.l
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Disclaimer
The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada is an independent, voluntary health
agency and does not approve, endorse or recommend any specific product or
therapy, but provides information to assist individuals in making their own
decisions.
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