ps: Thank you all for your wonderful support, when time allows I will
reply to all.
God bless <not meant as a point of argument, just my personal hope>
Davej
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Mayo Study May Explain Nerve Damage In MS
Researchers at Mayo Clinic have discovered a family of genes in
laboratory mice that may be associated with the neurological damage
caused by multiple sclerosis (MS) —
an often debilitating immune system disease that affects the brain and
spinal cord. The
discovery of these genes may lead to new therapies to treat MS in
humans.
O(AT)sis interviewed lead researcher and Mayo Clinic neurologist Moses
Rodriguez, M.D., about the impact of his team's findings, which were
published in the March 1998 edition of the journal Nature Medicine.
O(AT)sis: What is significant about your discovery?
Dr. Rodriguez: We have been able to identify for the first time a family
of genes that
may be associated with the damage caused by MS. We believe that the
presence or absence of these genes in a mouse model of MS may explain
why one-third of the people with MS show little or no deficit from the
disease, while the other two-thirds are more seriously affected. The
discovery has important implications for understanding the mechanisms by
which immune cells cause damage in MS.
O(AT)sis: Before you explain more about these genes, review for us what
happens in MS?
Dr. Rodriguez: MS is an immune system disease in which immune cells
mistake myelin — the fatty substance that insulates nerve fibers — for a
foreign invader and attack it, creating damage that disrupts the natural
flow of nerve impulses along the central nervous system. Until now,
we've known very little about what triggers this process, which
eventually damages not only the myelin but underlying nerve tissue, as
well. Now we believe we know which genes may be implicated in this
process of nerve injury.
O(AT)sis: What genes are implicated?
Dr. Rodriguez: It's a family of genes present in all humans, known as
MHC class I (major
histocompatibility class I). We had narrowed our concentration to this
set of genes after years of research with transgenic mice. In this
latest study, a virus was introduced into two groups of mice with
identical genetic backgrounds to induce an MS-like disease. Both groups
exhibited loss of myelin on nerve fibers characteristic of MS. But in
the group of mice in which we had ‘knocked out’ the MHC class I genes,
the damage stopped there. The underlying nerve fibers were preserved,
and the disease did not progress. These
mice did not develop severe MS-like manifestations as did the mice with
MHC class I genes.
O(AT)sis: So what does this discovery tell us?
Dr. Rodriguez: It tells us a number of things: One, it confirms that
damage to myelin alone isn't enough to cause neurological symptoms in
MS; two, that damage to nerve fibers occurs because of some action of
these MHC class I genes; and three, that a virus is somehow associated
with the onset of MS.