14 DAY TRIAL // A team of investigators based at the Oregon Health & Science University in the United States recently discovered in a study conducted on unsuspecting lab mice that a drug developed more than 12 years ago shows promise in fighting a condition similar to multiple sclerosis.
The compound, called MitoQ, was originally created to fight oxidation damage inside human cells, and is part of the antioxidant class. Additionally, the chemical has shown some promise in fighting the effects of certain neurodegenerative diseases, the researchers say.
Though scientists have tried to use MitoQ for dementias and related conditions before, this study marks the first time when the compound was used to attack the mouse version of multiple sclerosis, a condition that currently has no cure in humans, and reduces average lifespans by 5 to 10 years.
MS affects around 2.3 million people worldwide. It is an inflammatory condition where the myelin covers on nerve cells in the brain and spine are destroyed, potentially by the body's own immune system. The condition can be progressive or episodic, and develops differently from case to case.
The most common symptoms are difficulties in concentration, memory impairment, numbness and tremors in the body, slurred speech, blindness or blurred vision, and loss of balance, among others.
These effects were emulated in the new study by infecting the rodents with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a condition that produces effects similar to those MS causes in humans. Details of the study appear in the December issue of the journal Biochimica et Biophysica Acta Molecular Basis of Disease.
“The MitoQ also significantly reduced inflammation of the neurons and reduced demyelination. These results are really exciting. This could be a new front in the fight against MS,” says team leader P. Hemachandra Reddy, PhD.
The expert holds an appointment as an associate scientist with the Division of Neuroscience at the OHSU Oregon National Primate Research Center, e! Science News reports.
“It appears that MitoQ enters neuronal mitochondria quickly, scavenges free radicals, reduces oxidative insults produced by elevated inflammation, and maintains or even boosts neuronal energy in affected cells,” the expert adds, saying that other ongoing studies are currently investigating the effectiveness of MitoQ in fighting the effects of dementias such as Alzheimer's disease.