Antioxidant against multiple sclerosis: Study

An antioxidant synthesized more than ten years ago has been found to significantly ease symptoms of multiple sclerosis, in experimental research involving laboratory mice, Newsmax Health reports.

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University were able to demonstrate that the antioxidant — called MitoQ, which has shown some promise in fighting neurodegenerative diseases — helped reduce symptoms in mice with a multiple sclerosis-like disease.

"The MitoQ also significantly reduced inflammation of the neurons and reduced demyelination," said lead researcher P. Hemachandra Reddy, an associate scientist in the Division of Neuroscience at OHSU's Oregon National Primate Research Center. "These results are really exciting. This could be a new front in the fight against MS."

MS occurs when the body's immune system attacks the myelin — the protective sheath surrounding nerve fibers of the central nervous system — causing nerve damage, blurred vision, loss of balance, slurred speech, tremors, numbness, and problems with memory and concentration.

Reddy's team will now move to understand the mechanisms of MitoQ neuroprotection in different regions of the brain, and how MitoQ protects mitochondria within the brain cells.

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