This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

Dear all,

The following appeared on the NMSS website today. It involves mice and therefore human trials are probably some way off, but still interesting.

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/Resear ... July13.asp

Bromley

Bromley,

Very interesting article...thanks for the link.

I guess the MS mouse community will again be ecstatic about another treatment that helps them

Now if they can only get this kind of treatment to work in human MS patients. So far the track record from mouse to humans has been abysmal but who knows, maybe this one will be different.

Harry

Sorry, time to leave the board.

-finn

Finn,



I sometimes wonder if all the successes they have had with treating EAE in that poor mouse over the years has actually been a detriment to finding the elusive cure to MS!

They have found drugs that not only stop EAE but reverse it. My wife was actually part of a trial with such a drug but when the drug killed a trial patient, that stopped the trial immediately and ended that possible path.

They continually come up with new ideas using the mouse but so far nothing has translated into success. The fact that you mentioned this latest treatment has had some success with monkeys is certainly a huge step. Let's keep on hoping.

Harry

Harry / Finn,

I agree with Harry about EAE. Unfortunately, much of the research is still focussed on EAE. I often read the applications for research funding and they always state that they will test possible findings in a well known model of MS. I always sigh when I see this. I wonder how many PhDs have been earned from research involving EAE which has never benefitted any human with MS?

The odd thing is that they must now have a good idea that EAE is not a good model of MS. But changing the mindset of these people is an almost impossible task. Surely they can move on from this model!

In the UK, there is a tissue bank (MS tissue and normal tissue) and high powered MRIs dedicated to MS research etc etc. I assume this is replicated in many of the countries with high incidence of MS. When you add the information from autopsies, all the data from trials, natural history data of MS etc etc, it's almost scandalous that so little is actually known about this disease and that the researchers persist with the old models and the old theories. I would love to be a fly on the wall of one of the top MS researchers who arrives back home in the evening. What does he (or she) say when his wife (or husband) says 'had a good day at work dear'? What do they insert in their annual performance report - 'looked through a microscope for most of the year but didn't find anything'?

I know they will say that this is a very complex disease etc etc but their the ones with the title of specialist or expert.

In recent weeks there has been a dearth of MS research papers published. Not sure if some really big news is on the way? Probably not, but we all live in hope.

Bromley


PS I attach a link to the latest NMSS research summary (it says for summer / fall 2005?). It's pretty thin and one of the items is myelin repair. The latter seems to be based on the belief that the immune system causes the damage to myelin, rather than a possible alternative theory that nerve degeneration is taking place which affects the myelin and then the immune system gets inolved. Again mice are being made to suffer.

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/Progre ... search.asp

Bromley,

After reading your last message I remembered a quote that I've heard a number of times...." a definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again, hoping to get a different result!!"

I couldn't help but apply that to much of the MS research that has happened over the past 40 years. Your description of describing the lack of progress as "scandalous" pretty well sums it up. Dr. Behan's Pathogenesis of MS says much the same and while he states that the EAE model is great for studying EAE in mice, it's all but useless in human MS.

I've often heard from researchers that the EAE model is the best they have and they don't have a choice in the matter. Well, perhaps they should have been looking in another direction years ago.

Harry