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Thursday, February 05, 2004 Montreal researchers have identified a key factor in multiple sclerosis, adevastating disease of the nervous system. News that controlling an enzyme could "turn off" the autoimmune diseaserepresents fresh hope for the 35,000 Canadians who suffer from MS's debilitatingsymptoms. The enzyme has been shown to control the onset and progression of MS in mice,Sam , a McGill University Health Centre neuroscientist, said. "Blocking this enzyme has a remarkable effect in preventing disease andrelapses," said , a McGill University medical professor whose findings=areto be published today in Neuron, a neuroscience journal. "That means this particular enzyme is certainly a very good target for drug=s"that would block MS, he added. In MS, the body's immune system attacks the myelin, the insulating membrane=surrounding nerve fibres. Scarring - or sclerosis - impedes muscle co-ordinationand vision, and can lead to paralysis. The causes of MS is unknown. 's discovery stems from eight years of research in an area unrelated t=o MS- the role of iron in molecules after injury. "We began to look at this particular enzyme (cPLA2) and whether it calls in=theimmune cells to help clean up the debris, which is what you want after inju=ry,"he said. In MS, there's an abnormal influx of these immune cells. Not only was the enzyme present in mice with MS lesions, but treatment with=achemical inhibitor of the enzyme halted the disease. "It's a most exciting feeling - a eureka moment," recalled of watchin=g ahypothesis bear fruit in laboratory experiments done by his doctoral studen=t,Athena Kalyvas. But it's only a first step, he cautioned: "There's no way to predict whethe=r itwill work in humans." Current therapies focus on ways of reducing the frequency of MS attacks and=onslowing the progression of disability, said Deanna Groetzinger of the Multi=pleSclerosis Society of Canada, which funds such research projects. Other studies are looking at ways to stimulate nerve cells to produce newmyelin. Current therapies are most effective early on in the disease, before severe=disability sets in. "But it's never 100 per cent. There's no guarantee you won't get worse over=time," Groetzinger said. "MS is a complex disease, so this is really a prom=isingstep forward. "If this discovery could prevent the disease, that would be a good-news sto=ry." The next step is to move from mice to humans to ensure the treatment is saf=e andeffective.__*´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·->Jim