MS Research Roundup: February 18, 2015

MS Research Roundup collects items of interest to multiple sclerosis researchers from around the Web. Send us your tips: tips@msdiscovery.org.

Carbon Nanoparticles in Pipeline for MS and More

Carbon in the air may stoke global warming, but carbon nanoparticles in the brain may cool damaging inflammation from injury or disease, such as MS. At least, that’s the hope of a new biotechnology company called Acelerox that aims to test nanoparticles known as PEG-HCCs for treating autoimmune and other disorders. The company spun off from an “innovation studio” designed to translate advances from academic labs to medical products. In biochemical testing reported in a paper published February 9 in PNAS, nanoparticles showed “extreme potency” and selectivity against superoxides, a type of reactive oxygen species released by the brain into the bloodstream after injury. “We have demonstrated [the nanoparticles’] efficacy through publications on acute injury, specifically traumatic brain injury,” James Tour, Ph.D., a synthetic chemist at Rice University in Houston, Texas, told MSDF in an email. “But their use in autoimmune diseases is a newer addition.” One paper on rheumatoid arthritis (RH) and a second paper on MS are in the works. The naked nanoparticles—not associated with antibodies nor specific targeting peptides—are showing “stellar effects” in deactivating human and rat T cells associated with RH and MS, Tour told MSDF. “The carbon nanoparticle is itself the active material. We have demonstrated both antibody-directed targeting and, more excitingly, peptide-associated targeting of specific cell types in our cancer work.” (EurekAlert!, Houston Business Journal, Xconomy Texas)

Stay Calm and Hack On

The #HackMS hashtag has been trending on Twitter, at least among the MS community, thanks to two events in the Boston area. The hashtag flags a 6-week crowdsourcing campaign to raise $299,900 by March 8 for the second phase of a project from Orion Bionetworks to build computer simulations of MS. Orion Bionetworks is a nonprofit research collaboration that aims to harness the power of big data to cure brain disorders. Donors who give a “Patient-Power” level donation of at least $150 receive a #HackMS T-shirt. Earlier this month, 22 teams of software developers tweeted the hashtag for a weekend event, sponsored by Biogen Idec, billed in a press release as the “first-ever hackathon for multiple sclerosis.” The goal: Develop a tech-based tool to help people living with MS manage daily stress. Jeri Burtchell, a patient advocate living with MS, and Matt Winslow of "Team Stay Calm" claimed the top prize of $20,000 for their stress companion application designed to help with diet, exercise and sleep. “Successful #innovation in #digitalhealth starts w a real, clinical problem. Don't start w a solution & look for a problem!” tweeted keynote speaker Naomi Fried, Biogen’s new (and first) VP of medical information, innovation, and external partnerships. (Indiegogo, MedTech Boston, Orion Bionetworks, Scientific American, Twitter)

Restoring Myelin After Brain Cancer Treatment

At least one cause of brain demyelination is not a mystery. Radiation therapy to treat brain cancer (and to prevent metastasis of leukemia and lung cancer) obliterates the cells that mature into myelin-making oligodendrocytes. Without the fatty myelin sheathing around their axons, cancer survivors can develop permanent problems with thinking, learning, and movement. Recent animal studies show that human stem cell transplants can restore cognitive and motor deficits. Using oligodendrocytes generated from human embryonic stem cells or from induced pluripotent stem cells from human skin, a team in the lab of Viviane Tabar, M.D., a neurosurgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, injected the cells into irradiated rat brains. The grafted cells repaired the physical damage, and the injected rats showed better brain function in learning, memory, and balance tests, the team reported February 5 in Cell Stem Cell. Another series of preclinical work from the group of Charles Limoli, M.D., a University of California, Irvine, radiation oncologist, shows similar results, most recently in the January issue of Stem Cells Translational Medicine. But neither team can be sure whether their cells are integrating functionally or simply leaking trophic factors that prompt self-healing, pointed out Drug Discovery & Development. The approach is not ready for human testing yet, Tabar told MSDF. Her team wants to learn more about the number of cells needed, the migration path, the places they reach in the brain, and their long-term repair capacity. (Drug Discovery & Development Magazine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Blog, Science News)

Lemon Verbena May Be Anti-inflammatory

Lemon verbena, an herb used in tea and food, may provide some anti-inflammatory benefit to people with MS, according to a small study published in Nutrición Hospitalaria. Thirty patients took once-daily doses of a verbena extract containing verbascoside for 28 days. The researchers found that, by the end of the study, some of the participants experienced lowered concentrations of inflammatory markers in the blood, such as C-reactive protein, IFN-γ, and IL-12. Secondary progressive patients also had increased concentrations of anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-4 and IL-10. The Multiple Sclerosis Research blog published an interesting post about the study, discussing the various obstacles involved in validating results and developing a proven product through the standard pharmaceutical approach from a proof-of-concept study such as this one. The blog went on to suggest that patients may want to simply supplement with over-the-counter lemon verbena capsules, with the caution that sometimes OTC herbal supplements can be ineffective or even dangerous. This note should be taken seriously, as major retailers such as GNC, Walgreens, Target, and Wal-Mart were ordered to stop selling certain store-brand herbal supplements after an investigation revealed that many of the generic brands contained none of the main ingredients listed on the label or were adulterated with unlisted ingredients. (MS Research Blog, Nutrición Hospitalaria, Washington Post)

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