Potential New Treatment Strategies for Multiple Sclerosis

Research being performed at Edinburgh University on zebrafish may help identify new genes and drugs, which can be used to treat MS.1 Why zebrafish you might ask? Zebrafish actually share 80% of the genes associated with disease with humans, which make them ideal study candidates for mapping disease progression and studying new treatment strategies. Zebrafish are also transparent during their early stages of development, which allows scientists to observe what’s happening on a cellular level in real time.2



Scientists at Edinburgh University are currently using zebrafish to study oligodendrocytes. Oligodendrocytes are the cells, which produce myelin the fatty protective coating surrounding our neurons (nerve cells). The presence of myelin allows our nerve cells to transmit impulses quickly and properly. Without myelin, neurons can become damaged resulting in numbness, loss of vision, and many other problems. The destruction of myelin is a key factor in the progression of MS. By studying oligodendrocytes and how they produce myelin, researchers hope to discover ways to increase myelin production in MS patients.1

Results of the study have revealed oligodendrocytes only produce myelin for the first five hours after they are born, and we only produce new oligodendrocytes during the first 30 years of our lives.3 Scientists are hoping to discover what might be causing this block and if it is reversible. If we are able to discern how to extend the period of myelin production, or even increase the rate of myelin production this could provide vital new treatment options for MS patients.

Already, researchers discovered that by adding an enzyme, which promotes myelin production to oligodendrocytes, axonal (type of nerve cell) myelination increased by 21%.3 This is exciting as it’s easier to administer single enzymes as opposed to entire cells due to the risk of rejection by the patient’s immune system, or the possibility the new cells may become cancerous. It has been suggested that it is merely a lack of enzymes and not a lack of cells, which cause the symptoms of MS.

Future research in this area may be able to determine and provide the enzymes, which are needed to create more myelin or allow oligodendrocytes to produce myelin for extended periods of time.