Bahaa Q.

5th Period

MS could be reversed by activating stem cells in brain,

new study suggests
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 5 December 2010 17.59 GMT

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/dec/05/ms-activating-stem-cells-brain

Summary:
New research could lead to drugs that repair the damage caused by multiple sclerosis (MS).
Scientists have identified a biochemical "switch" that helps stem cells in the brain fix injured
nerves. In future, medicines targeting the same pathway might stops or even reverse the disease.

Multiple sclerosis occurs when the body's own immune system attacks and destroys the fatty
insulating material, called myelin, that coats nerve fibres. Nerve messages are cluttered or
interrupted leading to symptoms ranging from mild numbness to crippling paralysis.
In people with MS, the natural process by which lost myelin is rebuilt and replaced is blocked.
Scientists have been looking for ways to switch the mechanism back on by focusing on
“oligodendrocyte precursor cells” (OPCs), a type of stem cell needed for myelin repair.

Professor Robin Franklin, director of the MS Society's Cambridge Centre for Myelin Repair at
Cambridge University, who led the study, said: "Therapies that repair damage are the missing
link in treating multiple sclerosis. In this study we have identified a means by which the brain's
own stem cells can be encouraged to undertake this repair, opening up the possibility of a new
regenerative medicine for this devastating disease."

Opinion:

This can end up being a great help to humanity; saving us from a disease that was thought to be
incurable. The article is another prove that stem cell research can have great feedback on our
society. The reason the article states it might take about 15 years for a marketed cure to be
released is the fact that stem cell research is not getting the proper funding it deserves and the
country’s finance is getting thrown in issues such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

None the less this discovery can provide hope to the manufacture of other cures for dangerous
diseases. Since it’s possible to make the brain repair the nerve cells, then it’s also possible to
influence the brain to repair other damaged cells. This makes this a huge discovery for our
generation.