New Biomarker, Suggests Potential Therapy For Multiple Sclerosis & Related Disorders

New research published this month in Cell Metabolism by Drs. Hugo J. Bellen, Hyunglok Chung, and Hyun Kyoung Lee at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (Duncan NRI) at Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, reveals the intricate details of how demyelination leads to neuronal loss. Researchers discovered that myelin breakdown results in an accumulation of Very Long-Chain Fatty Acids (VLCFA) and their intermediates; triggering an autoimmune response that damages brain cells. They also showed that reducing the levels of VLCFA and S1P using known drugs, Bezafibrate and Fingolimod, had a synergistic beneficial effect on the MS pathologies in animal models, revealing an even more effective treatment for MS patients.