The World Federation of Neurology celebrates World Brain Day on 22 July and each time focuses its activities on a different health topic. This year it is multiple sclerosis. Can MS patients still expect any breakthroughs in treatment? It turns out that yes.
Canadian biotech company NervGen Pharma has developed a drug that it claims can treat multiple sclerosis by repairing damage in the nervous system. The drug in question is drug candidate NVG-291, which has the potential to prove to be a milestone in therapies for damage to the nervous system caused by degenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis. In preclinical studies, the drug has demonstrated the ability to repair and revitalise damaged nerves and neurons by triggering the body's natural ability to regenerate itself. NervGen CEO Paul Brennan describes NVG-291 as a completely new treatment paradigm.
The drug was developed after more than 30 years of pioneering medical research. The work was carried out by award-winning US neuroscientist Dr Jerry Silver, who has now licensed the technology to NervGen.
NervGen claims that the drug can counteract damage to the nervous system in a number of debilitating medical indications caused by injury or chronic disease. This is in stark contrast to existing MS drugs, which focus on addressing underlying symptoms, such as inflammation, to slow the progression of the disease. The difference with current MS drugs is that once a patient develops disability, the drugs will not restore lost function.
In animal studies, NVG-291 has been shown to stimulate multiple repair mechanisms at the cellular level. NVG-291 not only generates damaged neurons, but also creates entirely new connections. In particular, the peptide enables nerve repair in areas that are heavily inhibited by scar tissue and induces 'remyelination' - the process of replacing myelin, the tissue that surrounds and protects neurons, which is often damaged by diseases such as MS. NervGen is currently working towards obtaining regulatory approval for NVG-291.
Who is Dr Jerry Silver?
The co-developer of NVG-291, a professor at the prestigious Cleveland Clinic, leads research in the Department of Neuroscience at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr Silver has been working on a unique approach to nerve rejuvenation biotechnology since the early 1990s, focusing on a protein called CSPG, which inhibits the body's natural ability to repair and regenerate damage to the nervous system. After years of careful research, he believes he has found a solution that involves neutralising a receptor called tyrosine phosphatase sigma (PTPσ), which prevents healing in scar tissue.
Source: medexpress.co.uk