Fw: BBC News HEALTH Antibiotic may treat MS

[Guest guest]

----- Original Message -----

From: " ilena rose " <ilena@...>

Sent: Tuesday, December 25, 2001 11:28 AM

Subject: BBC News HEALTH Antibiotic may treat MS

> ~~~Thanks Margo ~~~

>

> http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1721000/1721766.stm

>

>

> Sunday, 23 December, 2001, 23:57 GMT

>

> Antibiotic may treat MS

>

> The drug could be taken as a pill

>

> A common antibiotic may have potential as a treatment for multiple

> sclerosis, research suggests.

>

> The drug, minocycline, is a member of the tetracycline family of

> antibiotics and was tested in rats with autoimmune encephalomyelitis - a

> condition that mimics MS.

>

> The results suggest the drug may significantly decrease the severity of MS

> attacks, or even block the onset of relapses.

>

> We think that a similar therapy could be used in MS patients with early

> relapsing-remitting disease

>

> Professor Ian Duncan Researcher Professor Ian Duncan, of the University of

> Wisconsin-Madison, US, said: " Animals treated with minocycline did not

> develop neurologic dysfunction or had a less severe course than untreated

> rats. "

>

> Professor Duncan said subsequent examination of the animals' nervous

> systems revealed that those who had been given the drug were less damaged.

>

> " We therefore think that a similar therapy could be used in MS patients

> with early relapsing-remitting disease. "

>

> Course of disease

>

> The majority of MS patients have a relapsing-remitting course of disease

> which becomes more serious with time.

>

> While the trigger for relapses is often unclear, infectious disease such

as

> a cold or flu are frequently associated with their onset.

>

> There is no known cause or cure and treatments to date have proved to be

> only partially effective.

>

> The disease is especially common in far northern and southern latitudes -

> the further from the equator, the greater the prevalence of the disease.

>

> The disease is characterized by inflammation and loss of the myelin

sheaths

> that insulate nerve fibres of the central nervous system.

>

> Eventually there is scarring and nerve fibre loss. The location of the

> inflammation in the central nervous system - the brain and spinal cord -

> varies from patient to patient and from episode to episode.

>

> How it works

>

> Professor Duncan said that the rat experiments indicated that minocycline

> primarily works by stopping the central nervous system from becoming

> inflamed, and by blocking the action of cells thought to play a crucial

> role in the destruction of myelin.

>

> He believes that it might also eventually prove to be useful in treating

> other neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

>

> The antibiotic will be tested on humans next year.

>

> If it proves to be effective, it would offer a number of advantages over

> currently available drugs.

>

> It is cheaper, can be taken as a pill, and patients would only need it at

> times when the disease was active.

>

> , MS Trust chief executive, said: " We welcome any new study

> into potential treatments for people with MS.

>

> " There are approximately 85,000 people in the UK with MS and about two

> thirds have the relapsing/remitting, type which this antibiotic might

> potentially treat.

>

> " Obviously this research is at a very early stage but we look forward to

> the final results with great interest. "

>

> The research is published in the journal ls of Neurology.

>

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