A recent American study revealed a new treatment that offers hope in treating vision problems in patients with multiple sclerosis and other conditions that affect the nerves.
The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz in the United States, and was published on January 16 in the journal Nature Communications, and the Eurick Alert website wrote about it.
The new drug, called LL-341070, enhances the brain’s ability to repair damaged myelin in nerve cells.
Myelin is an insulating layer consisting of protein and fatty materials, which forms a sheath around nerve fibers, including those in the brain and spinal cord, as defined by the Medline Plus website.
Myelin damage
Myelin damage is one of the hallmarks of some neurological diseases, including multiple sclerosis, and the myelin layer is eroded as a natural result of aging, which often causes loss of vision, some motor skills, and cognitive decline.
This study, which focused on the effect of myelin damage on vision, showed that the brain can repair itself when this layer is damaged, but this process is very slow and ineffective.
The researchers found that using the new treatment significantly accelerated the repair process, and they noticed an improvement in brain functions related to vision in the mice studied, even though their brains had been severely damaged before.
“This research brings us closer to a new world in which the brain has the ability to heal itself,” said Dr. Ethan Hughes, one of the researchers involved in the study and an assistant professor in the Department of Cellular Biology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “We hope that by taking advantage of this new potential, we can help people.” “People with various neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis by repairing some of the potential damage from these diseases, giving these people the opportunity to restore their vision and cognitive functions.”
Researchers have discovered that this treatment works most effectively when the patient is exposed to severe damage, which highlights the importance of medical intervention even in cases of severe injury. Research has proven that partial myelin repair significantly improves brain functions related to vision.