Drugs that activate brain stem cells may reverse multiple sclerosis

NIH | APRIL 22, 2015

Two drugs already on the market — an antifungal and a steroid — may potentially take on new roles as treatments for multiple sclerosis. These drugs may activate stem cells in the brain to stimulate myelin producing cells and repair white matter, which is damaged in multiple sclerosis.

Adult brains contain oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs), which are stem cells that generate myelin-producing cells. OPCs are found to multiply in the brains of multiple sclerosis patients as if to respond to myelin damage, but for unknown reasons they are not effective in restoring white matter.

In the current study, specialists wanted to see if drugs already approved for other uses were able to stimulate OPCs to increase myelination.

The team found that two compounds in particular, miconazole (an antifungal) and clobetasol (a steroid), stimulated mouse and human OPCs into generating myelin-producing cells. They found that both drugs were effective in activating OPCs to enhance myelination and reverse paralysis. As a result, almost all of the animals regained the use of their hind limbs.

More research is needed before miconazole and clobetasol can be tested in multiple sclerosis clinical trials.

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