We are huge fans of research like the following, that shows a common and readily available supplement may have beneficial therapeutic effect on MS. The supplement: N-acetyl-L-cysteine (commonly referred to as NAC), which can be obtained at most health food stores.

The study was done on the rat model of MS, EAE, which has been shown time and again to not mimic the human variant of MS. However, the pathways that NAC seems to affect are commonly accepted as being involved in human MS, so a reasonable argument could be made for applicability across the models.

Certainly, research like this is empowering and a refreshing change of pace from the "expected release in 2010" we see in pharmaceutical clinical research, but then again, the benefit of such a supplement is not quantified and has not been subject to trial in humans.

"We report that N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) treatment blocked induction of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IFN-gamma and iNOS in the CNS and attenuated clinical disease in the myelin basic protein induced model of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) in Lewis rats... These observations indicate that NAC treatment may be of therapeutic value in MS against the inflammatory disease process associated with the infiltration of activated mononuclear cells into the CNS."

Click "read more" for the study abstract...

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Full Study Abstract

N-acetyl-L-cysteine ameliorates the inflammatory disease process in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in Lewis rats.

Stanislaus R, Gilg AG, Singh AK, Singh I.

Department of Pediatrics, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA. singhi@musc.edu.

We report that N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) treatment blocked induction of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IFN-gamma and iNOS in the CNS and attenuated clinical disease in the myelin basic protein induced model of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) in Lewis rats. Infiltration of mononuclear cells into the CNS and induction of inflammatory cytokines and iNOS in multiple sclerosis (MS) and EAE have been implicated in subsequent disease progression and pathogenesis. To understand the mechanism of efficacy of NAC against EAE, we examined its effect on the production of cytokines and the infiltration of inflammatory cells into the CNS. NAC treatment attenuated the transmigration of mononuclear cells thereby lessening the neuroinflammatory disease. Splenocytes from NAC-treated EAE animals showed reduced IFN-gamma production, a Th1 cytokine and increased IL-10 production, an anti-inflammatory cytokine. Further, splenocytes from NAC-treated EAE animals also showed decreased nitrite production when stimulated in vitro by LPS. These observations indicate that NAC treatment may be of therapeutic value in MS against the inflammatory disease process associated with the infiltration of activated mononuclear cells into the CNS.

PMID: 15869713 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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