Small molecule could delay onset

By Catharine Paddock PhD

 – January 18, 2018

A new treatment for MS may soon be in sight.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disabling disease that destroys the myelin sheath that protects nerve fibers, causing loss of signaling and nerve cell damage in the central nervous system (CNS).

Now, a recent study from the University of Chicago in Illinois has revealed how a small molecule that bears the name Sephin1 can delay myelin damage in a mouse model of MS.

The journal Brain has recently published an account of the findings.

The study reveals that Sephin1 works by prolonging an inbuilt, integrated stress response (ISR) that reduces the harm that inflammation causes to myelin-producing cells, or oligodendrocytes.

First study author Yanan Chen, a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Neurology, says that Sephin1 appears to offer “therapeutic potential with no measurable adverse effects.”

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