Scots scientists have made a breakthrough in the treatment of multiple sclerosis which could halt the progression of the disease.
Researchers from Edinburgh University studying MS have created a new myelin repair method which could stop disability progression in the future.
In MS the protective myelin coating around nerves is damaged which makes it harder for messages from the brain to get through.
It can affect how a person walks, moves, sees, thinks, and feels.
The human body has the ability to repair myelin, which can help protect nerves again and restore their ability to conduct messages but in MS this becomes less effective.
Around 17,000 Scots live with MS – one of the highest rates in the world.
But the researchers, based at the MS Society Edinburgh Centre for MS Research, have used mice to test genetically engineered human cells and found them able to repair myelin.
The scientists genetically edited human oligodendrocyte progenitor cells found in the brain to make them ignore anti-repair signals.
When they transplanted these improved OPCs into mouse brains, the Edinburgh team found they improved remyelination.
Joanne Newall, 36, from Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS in 2021.
Joanne, Group Coordinator of the MS Society Ayrshire and Arran Local Group, said: “I am amazed by the amount of research going on right here in Scotland.
“It’s reassuring to know that research is making positive steps forward to stop disability progression in people with all types of MS.
“Also, knowing that there is now talk of hopefully moving on to the stage of human research gives me hope of a future without MS.
“The work the researchers are doing is fascinating and shows how much of a leap research has come on in 20 years. This is nothing but positive for the MS community.”
Anna Williams, Professor of Regenerative Neurology and study lead, said: “Many studies in the past have tried to transplant oligodendrocytes or similar cells into the brain to repair myelin.
“However, the hostile environment of MS lesions stops these transplanted cells from working.
“The difference in our study – which was six years in the making – is that we were able to genetically modify the transplanted cells so that they would ignore these negative signals and repair myelin.
“This is exciting as now we have shown that we can scientifically tweak cells in a dish and transplant them into models to improve repair.”
Dr Laura Wagstaff – a postdoctoral researcher at the university – added: “Our work is a proof of concept, and the next step is to see if we can remove the need for transplants and edit the cells directly in humans.
“This is an approach similar to gene therapy which may be an effective method of promoting remyelination in the future.”
Caitlin Astbury, Research Communications Manager at the MS Society, said: “Current treatments for MS work by targeting the immune system, making it less likely to attack the protective myelin coating around nerves.
“But we desperately need to find ways to repair the damage to myelin that has already been done.
“We’re really proud to have funded this innovative study and the results are invaluable in helping us understand how myelin repair could work.”
For more information and to help fund essential MS research visit www.mssociety.org.uk/stop-ms