Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
JUPITER — Researchers at Scripps Florida say they’ve found a way to stop multiple sclerosis in mice.
In a study published this week in the journal Nature, Scripps scientists say they’ve developed a compound that stops MS by knocking out TH17, a type of white blood cell that malfunctions in patients with MS and other autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
If it works in humans, the new treatment, known as SR1001, would have a couple of advantages over existing MS drugs, said Tom Burris, a professor in the Department of Molecular Therapeutics at Scripps Florida.
First, it could be taken as a pill rather than injected. Second, the compound would attack only TH17 cells while sparing other disease-killing cells.
“Right now, the treatments that are out there suppress the entire immune system, and that comes with a lot of side effects,” Burris said.
It’s unclear whether the treatment is a cure or simply stalls the disease, he said.
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