What Recent Advances Have Been Made in MS Research?
MS Research Update 2008
SOURCE: The Motivator from
www.MSASSociation.org
Summer 2008
Many
advances, on several fronts, have been made in the war against
MS. Each advance interacts with the others, adding greater
depth and meaning to each new discovery. Four areas, in
particular, stand out.
Over
the last decade, our knowledge about how the immune system
works has grown at an amazing rate. Major gains have been made
in recognizing and defining the role of this system in the
development of MS lesions, giving scientists the ability to
devise ways to alter the immune response. Such work is
expected to yield a variety of new potential therapies that
may ameliorate MS without harmful side effects.
New
tools such as MRI have redefined the natural history of MS and
are proving invaluable in monitoring disease activity.
Scientists are now able to visualize and follow the
development of MS lesions in the brain and spinal cord using
MRI; this ability is a tremendous aid in the assessment of new
therapies and can speed the process of evaluating new
treatments.
Other
tools have been developed that make the painstaking work of
teasing out the disease's genetic secrets possible. Such
studies have strengthened scientists' conviction that MS is a
disease with many genetic components, none of which is
dominant. Immune system-related genetic factors that
predispose an individual to the development of MS have been
identified, and may lead to new ways to treat or prevent the
disease.
In
fact, a treatment that may actually slow the course of the
disease has been found and a growing number of therapies are
now available that effectively treat some MS symptoms. In
addition, there are a number of treatments under investigation
that may curtail attacks or improve function of demyelinated
nerve fibers. Over a dozen clinical trials testing potential
therapies are under way, and additional new treatments are
being devised and tested in animal models.
|
