Implant Helps Identify Effective Multiple Sclerosis Treatment in Mice

A sponge-like implant in mice helped guide a treatment that slowed or stopped a degenerative condition similar to multiple sclerosis in humans. It also gave University of Michigan researchers a first look at how primary progressive multiple sclerosis, the fastest-progressing version of the disease, attacks the central nervous system early on. 

If administered early, the nanoparticle-based treatment prevented mice from developing symptoms such as paralysis. If given after the first symptoms emerged, it reduced symptom scores by half compared to untreated mice.

On average, primary progressive multiple sclerosis causes severe disability within 13 years—including balance issues, difficulty walking and vision problems—but this can also happen within two years. Researchers know that immune cells attack the myelin sheath around nerves—a bit like the insulation around an electrical wire—but it's hard to discover the details of how that is happening. Because the attacks occur in the brain and spinal cord, it's not possible to take biopsies from living patients.

"Right now, we simply can't get access to diseased tissue from MS patients in any regular way. Some patients donate brains after death, but at that point the disease has progressed quite far," said Aaron Morris, U-M assistant professor of biomedical engineering and co-corresponding author of the study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

Without an understanding of how the disease works, researchers have been unable to develop effective treatments. Currently, the only FDA-approved drug helps slow disease progression but does not offer full remission. Since it works by damping down the immune system, it also exposes patients to infection.

To help enable better treatments, the research team used a sponge-like implant, previously used to diagnose relapsing MS or discover whether an implanted organ is being rejected. Also known as a scaffold, it is a cylinder of biodegradable polyester, 13 millimeters diameter and 2 millimeters in height, full of small pores where cells can attach.

(Newswise/RG)