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Could hypertension drug stimulate repair in Multiple Sclerosis?

Quite often, the development of novel therapies for one disease indication later gives rise to its application for other diseases as well. In the case of Multiple Sclerosis treatment, the non-profit Myelin Repair Foundation (MRF) may have identified a proven drug for hypertension that could be used to stimulate repair and protect the brain in MS patients.......... Read More - http://www.ms-uk.org/emergingtherapies

Based on my experience with trying an anti-hypertensive (did help with symptoms), I'd say it better be a really low dose for those of us with normal or low bp. Wonder what it is.

What is MRF-008? Myelin Repair Foundation's substance #8? Could it be Lisinopril which is used for treating hypertension and has been looked at as a treatment for MS?

tzootsi wrote:What is MRF-008? Myelin Repair Foundation's substance #8? Could it be Lisinopril which is used for treating hypertension and has been looked at as a treatment for MS?

Yup. You got it tzootsi! Looks like Steinman's research, which was funded by the NIH, who then went to MRF for funding and help with the clinical trial. Now, they'll take an inexpensive bp drug, repackage it, and charge $40,000 a year to pwMS. Lisinopril is the generic name for the medicine, and it costs maybe a couple $100 a year. http://www.myelinrepair.org/mrf-008.sht ... dium=email
http://www.examiner.com/article/lisinop ... -sclerosis

I've written about lisinopril a bunch. It reverses endothelial dysfunction (not any better than diet and exercise, but hey, it's a pill.)
Here's more info for those interested in this new "neuroprotective" model of drugs for MS--addressing cerebral blood flow, not the immune system.

Lisinopril is--

An inexpensive blood pressure medication and ACE inhibitor which modulates angiotensin. This drug opens up blood vessels and allows blood to flow more easily. This older drug is being developed to treat MS by Dr. Lawrence Steinman of Stanford University School of Medicine. (Dr. Steinman is also one of the inventors of Tysabri--which he has since spoken out against as a first line treatment for MS.)

... angiotensin immediately causes blood vessels to constrict. “That raises your blood pressure so when you stand up to get out of a chair, you don’t fall down and faint,” said Steinman, who is also the George A. Zimmerman Professor in the medical school. But angiotensin overactivity causes chronic hypertension. Lisinopril controls blood pressure by blocking an enzyme that converts angiotensin’s precursor into the active hormone. The drug also appears to have certain anti-inflammatory properties.
http://med.stanford.edu/ism/2009/august/lisinopril.html

http://ccsviinms.blogspot.com/2013/08/m ... blood.html

cheer

A while ago I read somewhere that the hypertension drug Captopril helped - wonder if it's the one.

Azaeleaprawn wrote:A while ago I read somewhere that the hypertension drug Captopril helped - wonder if it's the one.

I made a post in the GENERAL MEDICATION section on the "other" GOOD effects of some Blood Pressure drugs.

http://www.thisisms.com/forum/general-m ... 18958.html

jackD

All of this is back up in the press..I just got an e-mail from the myelin repair foundation requesting funding to help with the joint trial with the NIH. They sure are keeping the name of the drug in question under wraps.

Do you folks still think it's Lisinopril?

Colleen

I know a lot of you want a pill to do the work but L-arginine will do just as good a job. Get an amino acid test done and look at your current level of arginine vs the normal range. I'll let the numbers do the talking.

Regards

Azaeleaprawn wrote:A while ago I read somewhere that the hypertension drug Captopril helped - wonder if it's the one.

cheerleader wrote:

tzootsi wrote:What is MRF-008? Myelin Repair Foundation's substance #8? Could it be Lisinopril which is used for treating hypertension and has been looked at as a treatment for MS?

Yup. You got it tzootsi! Looks like Steinman's research, which was funded by the NIH, who then went to MRF for funding and help with the clinical trial.

I stumbled across this old thread after looking further into another recent post, and thought I would simply close off any confusion. There were a lot of guesses, but no direct hits.
http://www.myelinrepair.org/mrf-008.shtml

Protect the brain. MRF investigators found that this therapeutic—an FDA-approved drug to treat hypertension—may be “neuroprotective.” That is, unlike current MS therapies which all suppress the immune system, MRF-008 — also known as guanabenz — may help protect myelin-producing cells (oligodendrocytes) in the brain from damage.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanabenz

Guanabenz (pronounced GWAHN-a-benz, sold under the trade name Wytensin) is an alpha agonist of the alpha-2 adrenergic receptor that is used as an antihypertensive drug

And the chemical diagram looks very different to Linsinopril.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisinopril

Hi,

In this tome I'm reading on Nitric oxide it becomes very clear that an ACE inhibitor can help with vasodilation and it would have application in MS. Hawthorn Berry juice, beet juice and dark green leafy vegetables would all help as well if you don't want the drug.
Although the book (Nitric Oxide:Biology and Pathobiology, Louis Ignarro) never talks about MS the symptoms inflammatory diseases triggered by ROS are striking in their similarity to many MS problems.

Regards,