[News] Breakthrough Nanoparticle Halts Multiple Sclerosis

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Frank

Frank

http://www.northwestern.edu/newscen...gh-nanoparticle-halts-multiple-sclerosis.html

In a breakthrough for nanotechnology and multiple sclerosis, a biodegradable nanoparticle turns out to be the perfect vehicle to stealthily deliver an antigen that tricks the immune system into stopping its attack on myelin and halt a model of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) in mice, according to new Northwestern Medicine research.

The new nanotechnology also can be applied to a variety of immune-mediated diseases including Type 1 diabetes, food allergies and airway allergies such as asthma.

Nanoparticles have many advantages; they can be readily produced in a laboratory and standardized for manufacturing. They would make the potential therapy cheaper and more accessible to a general population. In addition, these nanoparticles are made of a polymer called Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLG), which consists of lactic acid and glycolic acid, both natural metabolites in the human body. PLG is most commonly used for biodegradable sutures.
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So, that's exciting.

 
Yoshimickster

Yoshimickster

Well I sure am glad we are on a good start in the terms on nano-technology. Now all we have to wait for is it to be so advanced that it will heal serial killers frozen for decades giving them super powers, only for them to fall back to Earth and be told by Freddy that it was a dream in a cross-over that is bad or good depending on how young or drunk/high you are.
 
Yoshimickster

Yoshimickster

Ravenpoe said:
Apparently he likes to replay the plot to Jason X


Explains a lot, really.
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A classic terrible movie sequel. Still not as good as Jason goes to Manhattan though. Only showing Jason in New York for an exceedingly small fraction of the film? GENIUS!

Or maybe we'll get things made COMPLETELY out of nano-technology like the T-1000, and a crazy shape shifty metal body!

And then we'll work on biotechnology, where will boost the psychic ability of fat quadriplegics and make police women love them! GUESS!

In all seriousness though, I'm glad that this tech is all up in the medical community. Especially if it gets to Jersey, we got waaaaaaaaaaaaay too many asthmatics.
 
Gusto

Gusto

So is this a treatment, or a cure? Speaking selfishly, it would be swell to not have asthma any more.
 
Bowielee

Bowielee

This is cool and all, but I have a tendency not to get too excited until actual human trials begin. It's definitely a step in the right direction if it works. Rebuilding mylination in neurons would not only help MS patients, but also dimentia/alzheimer's patients as well.
 
Eriol

Eriol

Bowielee said:
This is cool and all, but I have a tendency not to get too excited until actual human trials begin. It's definitely a step in the right direction if it works. Rebuilding mylination in neurons would not only help MS patients, but also dimentia/alzheimer's patients as well.
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No it wouldn't. The first is completely different than the last two. MS deals with the nerves going everywhere in your body, and the mylin sheathes around them. The last two are CNS (Central Nervous System) diseases, aka Brain and Spinal cord, not any of the nerves going elsewhere. There isn't even those types of cells in the brain at all (or very very few) and so the same treatment is not applicable. Sorry to rain on your parade.

That being said, the myriad of other possible applications is great. I hope this pans out, and like others, i hope it's a cure, not a treatment. Even a treatment would be awesome, but still, hope for the best, and be OK if we only reach part way.
 
Bowielee

Bowielee

Eriol said:
No it wouldn't. The first is completely different than the last two. MS deals with the nerves going everywhere in your body, and the mylin sheathes around them. The last two are CNS (Central Nervous System) diseases, aka Brain and Spinal cord, not any of the nerves going elsewhere. There isn't even those types of cells in the brain at all (or very very few) and so the same treatment is not applicable. Sorry to rain on your parade.

That being said, the myriad of other possible applications is great. I hope this pans out, and like others, i hope it's a cure, not a treatment. Even a treatment would be awesome, but still, hope for the best, and be OK if we only reach part way.
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Dementia and alzheimer's are also linked to a break down in the myalin sheathes on neurons.
 
drifter

drifter

From reading that press release, sounds more like it's a treatment, not a cure. It's not rebuilding anything. Basically, the nanoparticle is the delivery system for an antigen which helps calm down the immune system so it doesn't attack the myelin.
 
Eriol

Eriol

First of all, while Alzheimer's is the leading cause of dementia, it isn't the only one. I really hate it when people conflate them in all cases due to family experience here.

Second, I was mistaken thinking that Myelin isn't in the brain, but only outside of the CNS. It is. My bad. Wiki article.

Third, while breakdown of Myelin in the brain is listed on the wiki page for Alzheimer's disease, that is not even close to the leading hypothesis. To me it feels like a stretch to say this has application here, especially because the original article and application has to do with resetting an auto-immune problem (MS & allergies) which this isn't linked to. The Myelin breakdown hypothesis for Alzheimer's isn't linked to auto-immune at all, thus, I don't think it's applicable.
 
Bowielee

Bowielee

Eriol said:
First of all, while Alzheimer's is the leading cause of dementia, it isn't the only one. I really hate it when people conflate them in all cases due to family experience here.

Second, I was mistaken thinking that Myelin isn't in the brain, but only outside of the CNS. It is. My bad. Wiki article.

Third, while breakdown of Myelin in the brain is listed on the wiki page for Alzheimer's disease, that is not even close to the leading hypothesis. To me it feels like a stretch to say this has application here, especially because the original article and application has to do with resetting an auto-immune problem (MS & allergies) which this isn't linked to. The Myelin breakdown hypothesis for Alzheimer's isn't linked to auto-immune at all, thus, I don't think it's applicable.
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I do have to concede that due to the fact that it appears to be the breakdown of myelin through auto-immune issues, this wouldn't apply to alzheimer's as that is a degenerative breakdown simply due to old age (or some other unknown process). I misread the way in which it was preventing the breakdown.
 
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