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Pregnancy hormone repairs myelin damage in MS mouse model

Date:
June 15, 2023
Source:
University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences
Summary:
A new study has identified a treatment that could repair myelin in the cortex, undoing some of the damage caused by MS.
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Treating a mouse model of multiple sclerosis with the pregnancy hormone estriol reversed the breakdown of myelin in the brain's cortex, a key region affected in multiple sclerosis, according to a new UCLA Health study.

In multiple sclerosis, inflammation spurs the immune system to strip away the protective myelin coating around nerve fibers in the brain's cortex, hampering electrical signals sent and received by the brain. Atrophy of the cortex in MS patients is associated with permanent worsening of disability, such as cognitive decline, visual impairment, weakness and sensory loss.

No currently available treatments for MS can repair damage to myelin. Instead, these treatments target inflammation to reduce symptom flare-ups and new nerve tissue scarring. Previous UCLA-led research found that estriol, a type of estrogen hormone produced in pregnancy, reduced brain atrophy and improved cognitive function in MS patients.

In the new study, researchers treated a mouse model of MS with estriol and found that it prevented brain atrophy and induced remyelination in the cortex, indicating that the treatment can repair damage caused by MS, rather than just slow the destruction of myelin.

This is the first study to identify a treatment that could repair myelin in the cortex, undoing some of the damage caused by MS.

Allan MacKenzie-Graham, an associate professor of neurology, is the study's corresponding author. Other authors include Cassandra Meyer, Andrew Smith, Aitana A. Padilla-Requerey, Vista Farkhondeh, Noriko Itoh, Yuichiro Itoh, Josephine Gao, Patrick Herbig, Quynhanh Nguyen, Katelyn Ngo, Mandavi Oberoi, Prabha Siddarth and Rhonda R. Voskuhl, all of UCLA.


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Materials provided by University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Cassandra E. Meyer, Andrew W. Smith, Aitana A. Padilla-Requerey, Vista Farkhondeh, Noriko Itoh, Yuichiro Itoh, Josephine L. Gao, Patrick D. Herbig, Quynhanh Nguyen, Katelyn H. Ngo, Mandavi R. Oberoi, Prabha Siddarth, Rhonda R. Voskuhl, Allan MacKenzie-Graham. Neuroprotection in cerebral cortex induced by the pregnancy hormone estriol. Laboratory Investigation, 2023; 100189 DOI: 10.1016/j.labinv.2023.100189

Cite This Page:

University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences. "Pregnancy hormone repairs myelin damage in MS mouse model." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 15 June 2023. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230615183107.htm>.
University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences. (2023, June 15). Pregnancy hormone repairs myelin damage in MS mouse model. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 8, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230615183107.htm
University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences. "Pregnancy hormone repairs myelin damage in MS mouse model." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230615183107.htm (accessed December 8, 2024).

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