Making Connections

Research News


	Summaries of all the latest research findings on MS selected by a team based at the Institute of Neurology, London.

Prevention and diminished expression of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis by low dose naltrexone (LDN) or opioid growth factor (OGF) for an extended period: Therapeutic implications for multiple sclerosis

The use of low dose naltrexone (LDN) in patients with MS in clinical practice is controversial. This study examined the long term effects of the opioid growth factor (OGF, [Met5]-enkephalin) and LDN on expression of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-induced EAE. The results indicate that treatment with LDN and OGF had no deleterious long-term repercussions and did not exacerbate EAE, but i) halted progression of disease, ii) reversed neurological deficits, and iii) prevented the onset of neurological dysfunction across a considerable span of time.

authors: Rahn KA, McLaughlin PJ, Zagon IS.

source: Brain Res. 2011 Mar 24;1381:243-53.

Cutting edge: mast cells regulate disease severity in a relapsing-remitting model of multiple sclerosis

The authors investigated whether mast cells influence the relapsing remitting MS model using SJL-Kit(W/W-v) mice. Previous studies had found that mast cells worsen disease severity in C57BL/6 (B6) strain-dependent experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), a model of primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). They found the mice exhibited significantly reduced disease severity compared to the commercially available WBB6F(1)-Kit(W/W-v) mice, but retain the relapsing-remitting course and that the phenotype reversed by selective MC reconstitution. The results from this study confirm that previously described influence of mast cells on clinical course of EAE is not confined to a single animal model.

authors: Sayed BA, Walker ME, Brown MA.

source: J Immunol. 2011 Mar 15;186(6):3294-8.

Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke is associated with increased risk for multiple sclerosis

This interesting population-based case-control study reports the incidence of passive smoking in patients with MS and controls who had never smoked. Through comparison of rates of the incidence of multiple sclerosis among never-smokers who had been exposed to passive smoking and comparison with that of never-smokers who had never been exposed, an odds ratio was calculated of 1.3 (95% CI 1.1-1.6). The authors also found that the risk increased with increasing duration of exposure to passive smoke.

The authors conclude that passive smoking is associated with an increased risk of developing MS, and that the underlying mechanism may relate to irritation within the lung, as oral tobacco in the form of moist snuff is not associated with increased risk.

authors: Hedström A, Bäärnhielm M, Olsson T, Alfredsson L.

source: Mult Scler. 2011 Mar 3

Tell a friend

The email you subscribed with us is {{print email}}

If you have an RSS News Reader you can get the latest news syndicated to you by copying the following link to your Reader: Syndicate.

If you do not want to receive future issues of this newsletter or if you have received this in error, please accept our apologies and simply unsubscribe here. If you have any problems with the direct link, you can log into My World of MS and untick the email subscription details.

Multiple Sclerosis International Federation
3rd Floor Skyline House, 200 Union Street, SE1 0LX
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7620 1911
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7620 1922
Registered Charity: 1105321
Email: info@msif.org

Click here to learn more about the work of the Making Connections sponsor.