Treating a mouse model of multiple sclerosis with the pregnancy hormone estriol reversed the breakdown of myelin in the brain’s cortex, a key region affected in multiple sclerosis, according to a new UCLA Health study.
BACKGROUND
In multiple sclerosis, inflammation spurs the immune system to strip away the
protective myelin coating around nerve fibers in the brain’s cortex, hampering
electrical signals sent and received by the brain. Atrophy of the cortex in MS
patients is associated with permanent worsening of disability, such as
cognitive decline, visual impairment, weakness and sensory loss.
No currently available treatments for MS can repair damage to myelin. Instead,
these treatments target inflammation to reduce symptom flare-ups and new nerve
tissue scarring. Previous UCLA-led research found that estriol, a type of
estrogen hormone produced in pregnancy, reduced brain atrophy and improved
cognitive function in MS patients.
FINDINGS
In the new study, researchers treated a mouse model of MS with estriol and
found 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.
IMPACT
This is the first study to identify a treatment that could repair myelin in the
cortex, undoing some of the damage caused by MS.
JOURNAL
The study, “Neuroprotection in cerebral cortex induced by the pregnancy hormone
estriol,” is published online in Laboratory Investigation.
Source: https://www.uclahealth.org/news/pregnancy-hormone-repairs-myelin-damage-ms-mouse-model
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