California [US], June 16 : Researchers found that the pregnancy hormone estriol reversed myelin breakdown in the cortex of a mouse model of multiple sclerosis, a key region affected in the disease.
The study was published in Journal, 'Laboratory Investigation.'
Inflammation causes the immune system to strip away the protective myelin coating around nerve fibres in the cortex of the brain, impairing electrical signals sent and received by the brain. Cortical atrophy in MS patients is associated with permanent disability worsening, such as cognitive decline, visual impairment, weakness, and sensory loss.
There are currently no treatments for MS that can repair myelin damage. Instead, these treatments aim to reduce symptom flare-ups and new nerve tissue scarring by targeting inflammation. Previous research led by UCLA discovered that estriol, a type of oestrogen hormone produced during pregnancy, reduced brain atrophy and improved cognitive function in MS patients.
Researchers used estriol to treat a mouse model of MS and discovered that it prevented brain atrophy and induced remyelination in the cortex, indicating that the treatment can repair damage caused by MS rather than just slow the destruction of myelin.
This is the first study to identify a treatment that could repair myelin in the cortex, undoing some of the damage caused by MS.
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