Auto-immune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) occur when the body’s immune cells attack healthy tissues. In the case of multiple sclerosis, the cells target the protective layer surrounding the nerves. Though the reason for this happening remains unclear, a new medical breakthrough has opened the door to reversing any autoimmunity—and even repairing old damage, according to Good News Network.
Dr. Su Metcalfe, senior research associate at Cambridge University, found a switch within the immune cell that could be “reset” to return it to its normal activity.
One of the major elements of her pre-clinical trial research involves the leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF): a small signaling protein which acts on stem cells in the body.
In 2013, she founded the Cambridge company LIF-NanoRx to further her research. The idea was to guide a measured dose of the tiny, specialized particles to damaged nerves and repair them. Nevertheless, when the LIF particles were deployed as a therapeutic agent, she found that the body broke down LIF after just twenty minutes.
Enter ultrafine nanoparticles. ‘Nano’ merely refers to the very small size. They are so tiny the surface area is much greater than their mass—in fact, they have their own name to differentiate them from mere clumps of atoms. Their special properties and size make them especially suited to delivering therapies to the interior of cells.
Dr. Metcalfe sourced nanoparticles using the same type of material as dissolving stitches. She combined them with the LIF protein to extend the life of the repair agent in the body. So far, her testing has been very successful. Not only does the LIF have time to reach the damaged areas and work their magic, the nanoparticles eventually dissolve within the body, leaving behind only carbon dioxide and water.
That means Metcalfe’s “double whammy” treatment can reverse autoimmunity while simultaneously repairing the damage it has wrought on a patient’s brain.
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