Drug repurposing and MS:



Currently there are a number of drugs, originally indicated for specific conditions, which may be useful in treating MS.



Amiloride (Midamor) – An oral blood pressure medication that has shown neuroprotective effects in mice with MS-like disease. This led to the first human trials led by a research team in the UK. Results of the pilot trial showed that treatment with amiloride resulted in a reduction in brain shrinkage in people with primary progressive MS.



MN-166 (Ibudilast) – This anti-inflammatory drug has been widely used in Japan and Korea to treat post-stroke complications and asthma. In early trials with MS patients, Ibudilast was unable to reduce new disease activity, but showed other benefits such as a decrease in brain volume loss. A newly approved trail is set to launch in the US to determine the safety, tolerability and activity of Ibudilast in people with progressive MS. Details of the trial can be found here.



MS-Society funded researchers identify another potential treatment for MS:



Last month, MS Society funded-postdoctoral fellow Simon Zhornitsky from the University of Calgary published a review in the journal CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics on an antipsychotic drug that has the potential to treat MS, specifically progressive MS. The drug is called quetiapine fumarate, and it has previously shown benefits in conditions such as mood disorders, pain disorders, anxiety and insomnia.



More recently, quetiapine fumarate - marketed as Seroquel - has demonstrated remyelinating and neuroprotective capabilities in mice with MS-like disease, making it an attractive candidate for future treatment. According to the article, remyelination and neuroprotection are the next frontiers of MS therapy, and as such significant research activity is now being directed towards these areas.