American researchers said this week they found a way to change the lives of millions of people with a disease that is considered incurable. It is enough to block one enzyme in the brain to correct the damage caused by multiple sclerosis, as well as other diseases of the brain.
In multiple sclerosis, the protective membrane around the nerve fibers (myelin) is damaged or even destroyed, which violates the ability of nerve cells to communicate with each other. This process, called demyelination, causes a number of sensory, motor and cognitive problems typical of the disease.
The head of the new study, Larry Sherman, a professor at the Oregon University of Health and Science, and his colleagues suggested that the hyaluronic acid compounds into which it breaks down in the presence of the hyaluronidase enzyme interferes with the recovery of myelin.
They found a very high level of this enzyme in lesions in people suffering from multiple sclerosis and in the nervous system of mice with a disease similar to multiple sclerosis.
When they blocked enzyme activity in sick mice, myelin-forming cell differentiation was restored.
But perhaps the most significant result of the work of scientists was that the drug, which the investigators used to restore myelin, also improved the function of nerve cells.
Now it's up to the development of a drug to suppress the activity of hyaluronidase, since the drug that the scientists used in the study is not suitable for people because of serious side effects.
