Working Toward A Cure for MS
Multiple sclerosis involves impaired regulation of the immune system. White blood cells, including lymphocyte, monocytes, and plasma cells, enter the central nervous system and result in destruction of myelin, which covers projections of nerve cells that are called axons. When myelin is damaged, conduction of nerve impulses is impaired, leading to problems with motor skills, sensory perceptions, coordination or other functions. The exact types of impairments depend upon the location of the damage and the extent of the damage. In many cases, not only is the myelin destroyed or injured, but also are the axons.
Several treatments for MS are being developed or studied at the John L. Trotter MS Center. Some research is at the cell culture stage, some research involves animals with the model of MS, and some involves clinical trials. Clinical trials ongoing at the John L. Trotter MS Center include several that are testing new drugs, or different formulations of older drugs, whereas others involve studies to improve imaging of the nervous system in MS patients.
Some of the agents that have been tested in recent clinical trials at the MS Center include the beta-interferons, glatiramer acetate, natalizumab, rituximab, fampridine and anti-IL-12. The studies we are doing are continually changing as we complete some studies and begin others.
Ongoing laboratory studies are directed toward uncovering the mechanisms that underlie the development of MS. At present, we are studying antibodies to myelin in the blood and spinal fluid, endogenous immune suppressors, mechanisms by which oligodendroglial cells die (these are the cells that make myelin), newly recognized immune molecules involved in cell activation, endogenous hormones and several other promising leads. Our hope is that some of these research studies may result in future clinical trials.
A large 5 year collaborative grant was awarded by the National MS Society to Dr. Cross and collaborators Drs. Sheng-Kwei "Victor" Song, John Russell and Joseph Ackerman to investigate ways to determine pathology of MS lesions using diffusion tensor imaging ( a type of MRI) in living patients.
Regulation of the inflammatory response is being examined. Researchers at The John L. Trotter MS Center are working on ways to modulate the immune system to lessen the damaging effects of activated immune cells in MS.
The John L. Trotter MS Center continues to work to identify specific components of myelin that are targeted by the immune system. This line of research was originated at the Center by our founder, Dr. John L. Trotter (1943-2001).
