A Mayo Clinic study has found that two genes in mice were associated with good central nervous system repair in multiple sclerosis (MS). These findings give researchers new hope for developing more effective therapies for patients with MS and for predicting MS patients’ outcomes.
“It’s possible that the identification of these genes may provide the first important clue as to why some patients with MS do well, while others do not,” says Allan Bieber, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic neuroscientist and author of this study. “The genetic data indicates that good central nervous system repair results from stimulation of one genetic pathway and inhibition of another genetic pathway. While we’re still in the early stages of this research, it could eventually lead to the development of useful therapies that stimulate or inhibit these genetic pathways in patients with MS.”
Mayo Clinic provides care for nearly 2,500 patients with MS each year. MS is a disease of the central nervous system that includes the brain, spinal cord and nerves. MS is called a demyelinating disease because it results from damage to myelin, the insulating covering of nerves.
This study was presented Sept. 11, 2009 at the Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis in Dusseldorf, Germany.
For more information, view the Mayo Clinic multiple sclerosis research Web page.
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