A decade after UC San Francisco scientists identified an over-the-counter antihistamine as a treatment for multiple sclerosis, researchers have developed an approach to measure the drug’s effectiveness in repairing the brain, making it possible to also assess future therapies for the devastating disorder.
The researchers, led by physician-scientist Ari Green, MD, who together with neuroscientist Jonah Chan, Ph.D., first identified clemastine as a potential MS therapy, used MRI scans to study the drug’s impact on the brain of 50 participants in a clinical study.
In MS, patients lose myelin, the protective insulation around nerve fibers. This myelin loss triggers delays in nerve signals, leading to weakness and spasticity, vision loss, cognitive slowing and other symptoms.
