(PhysOrg.com) — Biologist Tom Lane and a team of UCI researchers are leading an effort to determine whether a stem-cell-based treatment can repair neurological damage caused by multiple sclerosis.
More than eight years ago, Tom Lane helped discover a potential way to prevent multiple sclerosis from affecting the central nervous system. Now he’s leading an effort at UC Irvine to determine whether a stem-cell-based treatment can repair neurological damage caused by the chronic disease.
Lane, a molecular biology & biochemistry professor, is among 15 U.S. researchers who recently received five-year Collaborative MS Research Center Awards from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. With the $742,500 in funding, he has assembled a team to investigate the use of cell-replacement therapy to regenerate MS-ravaged nerve tissue.
In people with MS, immune-system T cells attack myelin, the protective coating of nerves, and eventually the nerve fibers themselves. Symptoms may be mild, such as intermittent numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision. There is no cure for MS, and current treatments mainly try to limit immune-system response.
“The promise of cell-replacement strategies to treat MS is significant,” Lane says. “Imagine being able to infuse people with cells that could make new myelin or transform into healthy nerve cells. That’s the focus of our effort.”
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