The study identifies an animal model that shares many similarities with progressive MS

The study identifies an animal model that shares many similarities with progressive MS

A new study by UCLA researchers identified an animal model that could be used to study treatments to improve disability in multiple sclerosis patients.

background

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

Identifying an animal model of disease progression is a crucial step towards finding better treatments, as the mechanisms underlying disease progression could be identified and then blocked.

Results

Dr. Rhonda Voskuhl, MD, director of the Multiple Sclerosis Program at UCLA, and Dr. Allan Mackenzie-Graham, PhD, associate professor of neurology, have identified an animal model that shares many similarities with progressive MS.

Previously, acute and relapsing forms of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a mouse model characterized by inflammation in the blood and spinal cord, have played a central role in the development of current anti-inflammatory treatments for MS. Here, Voskuhl and MacKenzie-Graham reported brain MRI and neuropathological analyzes in a chronic form of EAE that revealed many features of neurodegeneration shared with MS. In addition to the spinal cord, the results included effects on the cerebral cortex, cerebellum and optic nerve, among others.

impact

In the future, this model may be used by researchers to discover targets for treatments that improve walking, cognitive, coordination, and visual impairments in MS.

diary

The study is published in the journal Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience as part of a series focused on the need for a model for progressive MS. The full list of funders can be found in the study. The authors declared no financial conflicts of interest.

Source:

University of California – Los Angeles Health Sciences

Reference:

Voskuhl, RR & MacKenzie-Graham, A., (2022) Chronic experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis is an excellent model to study neuroaxonal degeneration in multiple sclerosis. Frontiers in molecular neuroscience. doi.org/10.3389/fnmol.2022.1024058.

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