DIABETES MEDICATION HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE EFFECTIVE IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

Scientists from Cambridge along with Australian colleagues saw the prospect of a new approach to the treatment of multiple sclerosis after animal studies. The animal studies have shown that a common antidiabetic drug can repair myelin sheath damaged by this incurable disease.

We are talking about metformin, which is believed to be able to rejuvenate stem cells and thus repair the central nervous system damages. In the new study, rats were given metformin for three months, after that they were given an injection that deprived myelin of some nerves in the brain. After this, the rats continued to receive the drug for another three weeks. The treatment showed an amazing effect: almost complete recovery of the myelin sheath was observed in animals taking metformin compared to the control group.

The effect of the substance was so amazing that the authors are going to carry out a clinical trial involving patients with MS next year. If metformin works as expected, it will stop the progression of the disease and even allow patients to get rid of some disorders that usually develop with the progression of multiple sclerosis.

«This study shows that therapy aimed at restoring the myelin sheath is within our reach, and we are very close to finding a cure for everyone with multiple sclerosis» - said experts who funded this study.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN