A new medical treatment possibility for MS was reported in a recent issue of New Scientist. Medical researchers studying the role of one of the thyroid hormones, triiodothyronine, have successfully stimulated myelin production in laboratory mice reversing the effects of Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

MS occurs when the body, for reasons not well understood, mounts an attack on these myelin sheaths, destroying the nerve’s ability to conduct messages from the brain to the target area causing physical and cognitive impairments. 

Myelin is produced by cells called oligodendrocytes, whose own production is controlled by the thryoid hormone triiodothryonine. Scientists reasoned that if they could stimulate the production of oligodendrocytes, then more myelin would be produced which might then cover these demyelinated nerve cells.

To test this theory, researchers at the Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg, France, injected a chemical that destroyed myelin in lab mice who then suffered seizures and movement disorders. Doses of triiodothyronine were then injected into the mice over a three week period, resulting in alleviation of symptoms.

So why can’t MS sufferers take extra doses of triiodothyronine? Well, the thryoid controls metabolism in the body. Too much thryoid hormone throws the body into high gear – like revving the engine in your car. Everything then speeds up in your body such as your heart rate, and causes nervousness and GI problems like diarrhea and weight loss.

To avoid this, researchers are hoping to find ways to tailor the impact the drug has on the body so that the drug affects just the brain. I’ll remain hopeful that ways to stimulate myelin production are not that far off.

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