Scots scientist in MS breakthrough

Dr Iain Comerford, originally from Glasgow, who is working with MS Research Australia on a fellowship at the University of Adelaide, has managed to stop progression of the disease in mice using a new drug.

The drug blocks the activity of a molecule known as PI3Kgamma, which is involved in the activation and movement of white blood cells, and protects against the damage to the nervous system associated with MS.

Blocking the molecule reduces the release of inflammation-inducing molecules from immune cells and also dramatically decreases the movement of immune cells into the central nervous system.

The research has already discovered new ways to treat human inflammatory disorders, such as diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, and has now been extended to MS.

Dr Comerford, a former Glasgow University student who also trained at the Beatson Institute, said human trials of the drug are already under way in other labs around the world.

However, he said it would be at least another five years before any treatment is made available to humans.

He said: "It will now be crucial to determine whether targeting these molecules could be a safe and effective way to treat MS in humans.

"In the animal model, it was preventive and also we could reverse the disease, but it remains to be seen whether that also happens in human beings.

"We've inhibited an enzyme, PI3Kgamma, which is involved in the activation and migration of white blood cells.

"The white blood cells have to move from the blood into the nervous system to do damage in MS.

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Scots scientist in MS breakthrough