People with multiple sclerosis (MS) are far less likely than those without the condition to have the molecular hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease, according to new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The discovery suggests a new avenue of research through which to seek Alzheimer's treatments, said Matthew Brier, MD Ph.
D., an assistant professor of neurology and of radiology and the study's first author. "Our findings imply that some component of the biology of multiple sclerosis, or the genetics of MS patients, is protective against Alzheimer's disease," Brier said.
"If we could identify what aspect is protective and apply it in a controlled way, that could inform therapeutic strategies for Alzheimer's disease." The study, an example of clinical observations directly impacting research, was published in the Annals of Neurology . A collaboration between WashU Medicine experts in Alzheimer's and MS, the investigation was prompted by a suspicion Brier's mentor and collaborator, Anne Cross, MD, had developed over decades of treating patients with MS, an immune-mediated disease that attacks the central nervous system.
Although her patients were living long enough to be at risk of Alzheimer's or had a family history of the neurodegenerative disease, they weren't developing the disease. "I noticed that I couldn't find a single MS patient of mine who had typical Alzheimer's disease," said Cross, the Manny and Rosalyn Rosenthal and Dr. John Trotter MS Ce.