According to new trial results, a treatment designed to attack a common virus that hides in our bodies could ease the decline caused by multiplesclerosis. It could even reverse some of the symptoms.
A California-based immunotherapy company, Atara Biotherapeutics, is conducting a phase 1 clinical trial to see if they can treat multiplesclerosis in at least some patients.
20 of the 24 volunteers who took part in the trial showed signs of improvement or a halt in their decline. There were no signs of serious side effects.
The study has not yet been peer reviewed. There is a rocky path from small clinical trials to approved medicine. It takes years of research to reveal hidden risks or demonstrate the worth of the treatment.
There is good reason to believe that targeting the dormant virus could be the key to stopping the progressive decay of myelin.
Around 95 percent of people catch the virus at some point in their lives, which causes a disease called mono.
The consequences of the reappearance of the virus range from benign to deadly, although most people don't notice.
There are suspected links between the myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ ME) and the EBV.
Medical researchers noticed that a lot of blood samples from people with Multiplesclerosis had elevated levels of the Epstein-Barr virus.
The question of how the two might be related is still being asked.
More than a quarter of people with Multiplesclerosis have at least one antibodies that bind to both an EBNA1 and GlialCAM, according to a recent study.
William Robinson says that part of the EBVProtein mimics your own hostProtein, which is found in the insulating sheath on nerves.
This means that when the immune system attacks the virus, it also attacks the GlialCAM in the myelin.
Multiplesclerosis could be caused by the loss of myelin. Pain, problems with vision, and even clinical depression are some of the problems that range from difficulty walking to cognitive impairment.
Genetics might play a role in why some people have better immune systems than others.
If the virus causes some people's immune systems to attack their own myelin, it could help treat the symptoms of Multiplesclerosis. The idea was first tested a decade ago, through the transfer of immune cells into a single patient.
Encouraged by the experiment, researchers in Australia ran a slightly larger study on 10 patients, taking the patients' own T cells and training them to hunt down virus-laden cells.
Instead of using the patients own cells, this latest trial by Atara Biotherapeutics relied on specially-selected donor white blood cells, hoping it might provide a more rapid and off-the-shelf delivery system.
The hope is that the therapy will give patients a chance to stay on top of the disease and thus improve their symptoms.
The findings of the team were presented at a conference late last year. Nine of the 18 patients who agreed to participate in a more extensive data-collection period reported a sustained improvement in their disability over the course of a year or more.
There were no reports of adverse immune responses, which shows a need to continue research. The regrowth of myelin was evaluated in the study.
The fact that there are hints of re-myelination around some nerves gives hope, since this is not something typically seen inMS patients.
When a patient reaches a certain level of advanced disability, it is rare for them to naturally reverting, and any improvement that is sustained would not be expected from the natural history of the disease.
With nearly 1 million people living with multiplesclerosis in the US alone, a treatment that puts the brakes on the disease can't come soon enough.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
