修复细胞疗法为治疗多重硬化症开辟了新的道路

Plaques  that  form  around  the  nerve  cells  of  people  with  multiple  sclerosis  are  apparently  what  disable  people  with  the  disease.  But  partly  developed  reparative  cells  within  the  plaques  provide  hope  for  a  treatment,  a  UT  Southwestern  physician  reports  in  the  New  England  Journal  of  Medicine.

Dr.  Elliot  Frohman,  professor  of  neurology  and  ophthalmology,  is  lead  author  on  an  overview  of  MS.  It  is  the  first  time  in  five  years  that  Journal  editors  have  had  researchers  provide  an  overview  of  the  debilitating  disease.

Presently,  the  primary  focus  of  research  is  on  plaques,  which  are  now  known  to  contain  certain  predictable  features  consistent  with  tissue  injury,  such  as  loss  of  nerve  insulation,  scarring,  inflammation  and  loss  of  the  ability  of  nerves  to  transmit  electrical  and  chemical  information  to  other  nerves.

"Recognizing  these  different  injury  cascades  has  catalyzed  novel  investigations  into  strategies  for  treatment  that  are  aimed  at  promoting  preservation  of  tissue  architecture  (neuroprotection)  and  even  potentially  neurorestoration,"  said  Dr.  Frohman,  who  directs  the  Multiple  Sclerosis  Program  and  Clinical  Center  at  UT  Southwestern  and  holds  the  Irene  Wadel  and  Robert  I.  Atha  Distinguished  Chair  in  Neurology  and  the  Kenney  Marie  Dixon-Pickens  Distinguished  Professorship  in  Multiple  Sclerosis  Research.

MS  is  an  autoimmune  disease  in  which  the  body  attacks  its  own  tissues  and  afflicts  about  400,000  Americans  and  2.5  million  people  worldwide.  People  with  the  disease  develop  problems  with  coordination  and  eyesight  and,  in  some  cases,  lose  mental  sharpness.

In  MS,  nerve  cells  lose  their  insulating  fatty  covering,  called  myelin.  Myelin  comes  from  nearby  cells  called  oligodendrocytes,  which  send  out  projections  that  wrap  around  nerve  cells.  Myelin  allows  electrical  signals  to  travel  quickly  and  with  high  fidelity.

The  damaged  area  becomes  surrounded  by  plaques,  which  contain  a  wide  variety  of  cells.  Although  much  of  the  content  of  a  plaque  is  harmful  to  nerves,  there  are  some  cells  that  provide  hope,  Dr.  Frohman  said. (责任编辑：泉水)

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修复细胞疗法为治疗多重硬化症开辟了新的道路