Happiness. Happiness and hopefulness is what I feel today. Hallelujah! Good things can happen. Today it was reported that researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh have made a discovery that could lead to Myelin repair in Multiple Sclerosis. Myelin sheaths protect nerve fibers in the brain. These nerve fibers are important as they send messages to other parts of the body. The scientists believe that this research will help in identifying drugs to encourage Myelin repair in multiple sclerosis patients. (Below are some excerpts from the article I found at http://www.cambridgefirst.co.uk/news/new_possibility_of_reversing_damage_caused_by_multiple_sclerosis_cambridge_university_researchers_1_745661 )
Professor Robin Franklin, Director of the MS Society’s Cambridge Centre for Myelin Repair at the University of Cambridge, said: “Therapies that repair damage are the missing link in treating multiple sclerosis.
“In this study we have identified a means by which the brain’s own stem cells can be encouraged to undertake this repair, opening up the possibility of a new regenerative medicine for this devastating disease.”
The study, funded by the MS Society in the UK and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in America, is published in Nature Neuroscience.
Professor Charles ffrench-Constant, of the University of Edinburgh’s MS Society Centre for Multiple Sclerosis Research, said: “The aim of our research is to slow the progression of multiple sclerosis with the eventual aim of stopping and reversing it.
“This discovery is very exciting as it could potentially pave the way to find drugs that could help repair damage caused to the important layers that protect nerve cells in the brain.”
Multiple sclerosis affects almost 100,000 people in the UK and several million worldwide. It often targets young adults between the ages of 20 and 40.
[The rest of this is Me again]
This is the first real step that shows promise towards a cure!! Do you realize what this could mean? We could reverse the effects of MS. Possibly get rid of it all together. I have Relapsing/Remitting MS which means it flares up and calms down. Basically it means I can have episodes that I feel really bad and other times where MS is just bothersome. This research not only will mean something for others with Relapsing/Remitting MS, but for people with Progressive MS... Oh, the possibilities. Primary Progressive or Secondary Progressive really has no treatment except for symptomatic. The symptoms and effects of MS just become progressively worse. There is little that can be done and that is even more frustrating. This could be a huge benefit to these patients as well.
I am jumping for joy at the possibilities of what this research will mean. For what this can be a stepping stone towards. Amazing! So today, I will not be mindless in my cry of tears. I will cry mindFULL tears of joy!!! Shed a few with me. <3 <3 <3
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