PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Medications for relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) effectively reduce relapse rate, mitigate disability progression and improve MRI measures of inflammation. However, they have virtually no impact on remyelination which is the major mechanism preventing MS-associated neurodegeneration. Stimulating the generation of myelin-(re)producing cells is therefore a central focus of current MS research and a yet unmet clinical need. Here, we present and evaluate key scientific studies from the field of (therapeutic) remyelination research covering the past 1.5 years. RECENT FINDINGS: On the one hand, recent research in the field of remyelination has strongly focused on repurposing drugs that are already approved for other indications by the Food and Drug Administration or the European Medicines Agency. On the other hand, emerging agents such as the mAbs opicinumab and GNbAC1 target entirely new and unconventional pathways. Some of them have already been tested in clinical trials in which they were found to exert beneficial effects on remyelination as well as on neuroregeneration/neuroprotection. SUMMARY: Several of the agents discussed in this review have shown a high potential as future neuroregenerative drugs. However, future trials with more sensitive clinical and paraclinical primary endpoints will be necessary to prove their effectiveness in MS.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Medications for relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) effectively reduce relapse rate, mitigate disability progression and improve MRI measures of inflammation. However, they have virtually no impact on remyelination which is the major mechanism preventing MS-associated neurodegeneration. Stimulating the generation of myelin-(re)producing cells is therefore a central focus of current MS research and a yet unmet clinical need. Here, we present and evaluate key scientific studies from the field of (therapeutic) remyelination research covering the past 1.5 years. RECENT FINDINGS: On the one hand, recent research in the field of remyelination has strongly focused on repurposing drugs that are already approved for other indications by the Food and Drug Administration or the European Medicines Agency. On the other hand, emerging agents such as the mAbs opicinumab and GNbAC1 target entirely new and unconventional pathways. Some of them have already been tested in clinical trials in which they were found to exert beneficial effects on remyelination as well as on neuroregeneration/neuroprotection. SUMMARY: Several of the agents discussed in this review have shown a high potential as future neuroregenerative drugs. However, future trials with more sensitive clinical and paraclinical primary endpoints will be necessary to prove their effectiveness in MS.
Authors: Cristina Granziera; Jens Wuerfel; Frederik Barkhof; Massimiliano Calabrese; Nicola De Stefano; Christian Enzinger; Nikos Evangelou; Massimo Filippi; Jeroen J G Geurts; Daniel S Reich; Maria A Rocca; Stefan Ropele; Àlex Rovira; Pascal Sati; Ahmed T Toosy; Hugo Vrenken; Claudia A M Gandini Wheeler-Kingshott; Ludwig Kappos Journal: Brain Date: 2021-06-22 Impact factor: 13.501
Authors: Walter H Moos; Douglas V Faller; Ioannis P Glavas; David N Harpp; Iphigenia Kanara; Anastasios N Mavrakis; Julie Pernokas; Mark Pernokas; Carl A Pinkert; Whitney R Powers; Konstantina Sampani; Kosta Steliou; Demetrios G Vavvas; Robert J Zamboni; Krishna Kodukula; Xiaohong Chen Journal: Biores Open Access Date: 2020-03-31
Authors: Joel Gruchot; Vivien Weyers; Peter Göttle; Moritz Förster; Hans-Peter Hartung; Patrick Küry; David Kremer Journal: Cells Date: 2019-08-03 Impact factor: 6.600
Authors: Shawna Abel; Irene Vavasour; Lisa Eunyoung Lee; Poljanka Johnson; Stephen Ristow; Nathalie Ackermans; Jillian Chan; Helen Cross; Cornelia Laule; Adam Dvorak; Alice Schabas; Enedino Hernández-Torres; Roger Tam; Annie J Kuan; Sarah A Morrow; Jeffrey Wilken; Alexander Rauscher; Virender Bhan; Ana-Luiza Sayao; Virginia Devonshire; David K B Li; Robert Carruthers; Anthony Traboulsee; Shannon H Kolind Journal: JAMA Netw Open Date: 2020-09-01