Blood Pressure Drug May Aid Multiple Sclerosis Patients
Researchers in the UK have highlighted how a traditional blood pressure treatment drug could have the potential to become vital in treating multiple sclerosis. The drug in question, Amiloride, was observed during trials involving mice to be capable of lessening the deterioration of nerve tissue. Consequently, the scientists behind the assessment are now preparing to conduct trials in human patients with MS.
Approximately 85,000 MS sufferers currently live in the United Kingdom. The disease begins when the tissue encircling nerve fibres is attacked by the body’s internal defence system. The result is a downward spiral of deterioration from which patients do not recover: among the symptoms of MS are loss of sight and general weakness.
The nerve cell damage is partly caused by a gathering of calcium at the sites in question. Amiloride works to block this calcium build-up.
The research team – which was led by Professor Lars Fugger – focused on a particular channel known as ASIC1. This channel regulates the flow of calcium into nerve cells. Through an assessment of mice suffering from an MS-replicating condition, the team discovered that when the ASIC1 channel stayed open, calcium entered nerve cells at a faster rate than normal and damaged them.
Blood Pressure Treatment Amiloride Prevents Calcium Build-Up
Amiloride has been employed for some time as a drug to reduce blood pressure. As per the research team’s report in the Nature Medicine Journal, it is also able to halt the progress of calcium through ASIC1 – thereby sparing nerve cells from the degeneration they would otherwise have gone through.
According to Professor Fugger, since Amiloride is already on the market, the gaining of approval for its use in MS patients would be an accelerated one.
In light of the drug’s success with mice, Professor Fugger is now trying to establish at what dosage it should be provided to humans, with a view to beginning clinical trials in 2008.
"To develop a drug from scratch takes 10-15 years and a billion dollars and some of them are abruptly halted by unexpected side effects," he stated, adding: "It was known that calcium is not good for nerve cells but it's not been appreciated how simple it is to block it."
The MS Society’s Dr Laura Bell added: "Protection of nerve fibres is a promising and vital area of research and this is why the MS Society is currently spending half a million pounds on a clinical trial investigating this type of nerve protection in people with MS.
"The early stage results from Oxford are interesting and we look forward to seeing the findings of future studies."
Source – Pharmaceutical International’s Research and Development Analyst
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