UCLA has developed a model to study the progression of treatments for multiple sclerosis

A new study by UCLA researchers has found an animal model that can be used to study treatments
to improve disability in people with multiple sclerosis.

background

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune and neurodegenerative disease
in which the immune system attacks the nerves of the brain and spinal cord.
There are many treatments that target immune mechanisms and reduce multiple sclerosis recurrence, but none are
designed to protect brain and spinal cord cells from damage.
Existing treatments have limited effectiveness in slowing the accumulation of disability, and none of them actually improves disability
.

Identifying animal models of disease progression is a critical step in finding better treatments, as the underlying mechanisms of disease progression can be identified and then blocked
.

found

Dr.
Rhonda Voskuhl, director of the UCLA Multiple Sclerosis Program, and Allan Mackenzie-Graham, associate professor of neurology, have discovered an animal model that shares many similarities
with progressive multiple sclerosis.

Prior to this, acute and recurrent experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a mouse model characterized by inflammation in the blood and spinal cord, played a central role
in the current development of anti-inflammatory treatments for multiple sclerosis.
Here, Voskuhl and MacKenzie-Graham report on brain MRI and neuropathological analysis of chronic EAE, revealing many features of multiple sclerosis with neurodegeneration, in addition to the spinal cord, findings including effects on the cerebral cortex, cerebellum, optic nerve and more
.

effect

In the future, this model could be used by researchers to discover therapeutic targets that improve walking, cognition, coordination, and visual impairment in multiple sclerosis
.

magazine

The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, is part of a series of articles focusing on the need for models of
progressive multiple sclerosis.
The authors declare no financial conflict of
interest.
Conducted
in the context of a potential conflict of interest in the context of a business or financial relationship.