Key protein in MS may lead to therapies

BALTIMORE, Sep 23, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Johns Hopkins researchers in Baltimore have discovered a key protein linked to transverse myelitis and multiple sclerosis.

In a study published in the October issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, psychiatrist Adam Kaplin of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and neurologist Dr. Douglas Kerr showed the levels of the protein, IL-6, dramatically elevated in the spinal fluid of transverse myelitis patients.

Although the majority of TM patients suffer a single attack, 15 percent to 30 percent of patients go on to develop full-blown MS. TM evolves rapidly and without warning and usually results in permanent impairment -- including weakness of the legs and arms, bowel and bladder dysfunction, pain and paralysis.

IL-6 is a chemical messenger that cells of the immune system use to communicate with one another. One of the cell types injured by high levels of IL-6 includes oligodendrocytes, which help produce the protective myelin sheath coating around nerve cells.

The findings offer one possible mechanism responsible for demyelinating disorders, such as TM and MS, and may aid in the development of effective therapies, the researchers say.