Antioxidant against multiple sclerosis
Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University (Oregon Health & Science University), working under the guidance of Dr. Hemachandra Reddy (P. Hemachandra Reddy), found that the antioxidant MitoQ developed more than 10 years ago significantly relieves the symptoms of a mouse model of multiple sclerosis.
Multiple sclerosis, which affects more than 2.3 million people worldwide, is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system destroys myelin, the protective sheath covering nerve fibers. This leads to damage to the nerves themselves and the occurrence of symptoms such as impaired vision, loss of balance, impaired speech, trembling, numbness, as well as a weakening of memory and the ability to concentrate.
As the object of the study, the authors used mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, a disease considered to be an analogue of multiple sclerosis. The animals were divided into four groups: with untreated autoimmune encephalomyelitis, a group that received MitoQ after the onset of the disease, a group that was prescribed MitoQ before the onset of the disease; and a control group of healthy animals that did not receive any treatment.
14 days after receiving MitoQ, mice with autoimmune encephalomyelitis showed a decrease in the levels of inflammatory markers, as well as an increase in the activity of affected spinal cord neurons, which indicated a weakening of the symptoms of the disease. In addition to a significant decrease in the severity of inflammatory reactions and the degree of demyelination of neurons, animals also showed a decrease in the rate of axon death and neurological disorders associated with the disease. The best results were shown by mice to whom the drug was administered before the manifestation of the disease.
However, the researchers note that MitoQ is still very far from conducting clinical trials as a treatment for multiple sclerosis. The next stage of the work will be a detailed study of the mechanisms by which the drug exerts its neuroprotective effect in various regions of the brain and spinal cord, including the mechanisms of protection of myhotondria in the brain cells of mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.
According to Reddy, apparently, MitoQ penetrates very quickly into the mitochondria, neutralizes active radicals, reduces the severity of damage caused by inflammatory reactions and even stimulates energy production in affected cells. Moreover, this drug has already passed safety tests in numerous clinical studies. There is preliminary evidence that it is effective in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.
Article by Peizhong Mao et al. MitoQ, a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant, delays disease progression and facilitates pathogenesis in an experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis mouse model of multiple sclerosis is published in the journal Biochimica et Biophysica Acta Molecular Basis of Disease.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on materials from Oregon Health & Science University:
Antioxidant drug knocks down multiple sclerosis-like disease in mice.
30.12.2013