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New therapy could halt multiple sclerosis progress

"We believe we have identified the first therapy that will impact the quality of life of people with multiple sclerosis by significantly reducing the disability and the disease's progression," said Dr. Alexandre Prat, a professor in the Department of Neurosciences at the University of Montreal.

By Stephen Feller

MONTREAL, May 20 (UPI) -- Researchers at the University of Montreal have discovered a treatment that can potentially stop the progression of multiple sclerosis.

The melanoma cell adhesion molecule, or MCAM, was found to be a crucial element in the attacks on the nervous system which slowly incapacitate people with multiple sclerosis. In vitro tests in humans, as well as tests in mice, showed that MCAM can be blocked, delaying onset of the disease and potentially slowing its progress.

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Normally, the brain is protected from being attacked by the immune system. In patients with MS, the brain-blood barrier that provides this protection is penetrated by immune cells called lymphocytes which attack the brain and prevent its proper function.

"We observed a decrease of approximately 50 percent of the disease in mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the most widely used animal model of MS," said, Dr. Alexandre Prat, a professor in the Department of Neurosciences at the University of Montreal, in a press release. "What is especially significant is that we can stop the disease from the first symptoms in addition to having an impact on its progression, which is a first."

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"We believe we have identified the first therapy that will impact the quality of life of people with multiple sclerosis by significantly reducing the disability and the disease's progression," Prat said.

The study is published in Annals of Neurology.

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