Pregnancy’s Secret Weapon?
Estrogen-derived molecule could dampen MS Rachel Tompa Unlike weight gain and swollen feet, one side effect of pregnancy comes as a welcome relief for...
View ArticleBad Presentation
Researchers identify cells that might incite nerve-damaging T cells in MSMitch Leslie T cells don’t go rogue without provocation. Researchers have now fingered the cells that might...
View ArticleSpinal Vision
Advanced MRI measures discern disability levels better than standard techniquesCarol Cruzan Morton Brain scans routinely help doctors diagnose MS, but the discrepancy between the amount of visibly...
View ArticleResisting Arrest
Regulatory T cells outmatched in active diseaseCarol Cruzan Morton If immunology had its own comic book series, a recurring MS story line would pit...
View ArticleSalt Sampler
Dietary salt swells autoimmune pathogenic T cells in miceCarol Cruzan Morton It's not every day multiple sclerosis studies grab news headlines around the world, but...
View ArticleEvidence Grows for Pathogenic Antibody
American Academy of Neurology meeting reportStephani Sutherland For years, MS researchers have searched in vain for a holy grail: a protein target...
View ArticleUpdate: Risk Factors
American Academy of Neurology meeting reportStephani Sutherland Life in the Western world has changed dramatically over the past 50 years. We spend more...
View ArticleCore Value of Amyloids
Fibrils show therapeutic effect in miceCarol Cruzan Morton For decades, experts in brain disorders have fixated on the toxic properties of amyloids...
View ArticleMeet the Microglia
American Academy of Neurology meeting reportStephani Sutherland Researchers have been on a mission to understand microglia—the brain’s resident immune cells—since...
View ArticleAntigen-Specific Therapy for MS Passes Safety Test
Phase 1 study shows hint of immune tolerance to myelinCarol Cruzan Morton Scientists are reasonably certain that much of the early damage in multiple sclerosis results from...
View ArticleHarnessing Epitope Spreading to Treat MS
Echoes of a vanishing target reveal vulnerabilityRicki Lewis, Ph.D. Like the mythical phoenix that rose from its ashes, a once-hot area of immunology research has...
View ArticleGut Bacteria Boost Anti-Inflammatory Immune Cells in Mice
Compounds they produce while breaking down dietary fiber increase the number and function of regulatory T cellsCarol Cruzan MortonCommon compounds made by gut microbes that break down dietary fiber...
View ArticlePUMA Protein May Underlie Oligodendroglial Cell Death in MS
A pro-apoptotic protein underlies oligodendroglial cell death in toxic demyelination and possibly in MS alsoLaurie Barclay, M.D. The PUMA protein (p53 upregulated modulator of apoptosis) underlies...
View ArticleEarly B Cells Found in Gut, Schooled by Microbes
Study in mice shows distinctive antibody repertoire in gut-bred B cellsCarol Cruzan Morton Although T cells have long dominated the immunology of multiple sclerosis, B cells have recently emerged as...
View ArticleSleep Boosts Remyelinating Glial Cells
Oligodendrocyte precursor cells proliferate during sleep in mice. Could increasing the pool of this critical cell type tip the balance toward remyelination?Stephani Sutherland Multiple sclerosis robs...
View ArticleNominations Open for Dystel Prize for MS Research
Deadline: October 30, 2013The John Dystel Prize for Multiple Sclerosis Research is awarded jointly by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). Nominations...
View ArticleFirst-Attack Multiple Sclerosis Targets Gray Matter
A new technique has identified changes in gray matter-related proteins in CSF that distinguished first-attack CIS from established relapsing-remitting MS and from controlsDaniel M. Keller, Ph.D. Using...
View ArticleStem Cells Enhanced to Generate Myelin-Producing Cells
A new technology enhances stem cells to generate myelin-producing cells. This may allow regenerative therapy in MS and other brain diseases.Laurie Barclay, M.D. A new method of generating embryonic...
View ArticleSingle Calcitriol Dose Beats Back EAE in Mice
Vitamin D zaps inflammatory T cells in the CNS and leads to sustained remissionJessica Shugart, Ph.D. Just a single dose of calcitriol—the active form of vitamin D—reversed...
View ArticleThe Many Faces of B Cells
Experimental therapy prompts a closer look at immune cellsCarol Cruzan Morton Five years ago, just as the global economy plummeted, interest in B cells spiked upward among...
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