Doctors say they are "on the brink" of new treatments for multiple sclerosis
Research from Cambridge University have unlocked a new swathe of treatments
Cambridge researchers have said they are "on the brink" of discovering a host of ways to treat multiple sclerosis.
Studies from a recent medical trial have suggested that the damage the condition does in patients can be repaired and ultimately reversed.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a degenerative condition that results in the brain and the spinal cord being attacked by the immune system, resulting in major mobility issues.
Currently, the condition cannot be cured but it can be treated in order to help manage the disease.
However, a new medical trial has revealed new treatments that can drastically improve symptoms and even repair some of the damage.
The treatment involves combining a drug traditionally used for diabetes together with antihistamine to help repair the myelin.
As a result, the combination acts as a protective membrane that wraps itself around nerve cells. A typical MS patient gradually has this protection eroded, resulting in mobility issues and severe pain.
Speaking on the results of the study, Dr Nick Cunniffe, academic neurologist at the University of Cambridge, said that this could lead to a major turning point in stopping the degradation of muscles and progressive disability caused by MS.
"We still need to research the long-term benefits and side-effects before people with MS consider taking these drugs," he said.
"But my instinct is that we are on the brink of a new class of treatments to stop MS progression, and within the next decade we could see the first licensed treatment that repairs myelin and improves the lives of people living with MS."
The trial involved some 70 people with relapsing MS taking part in the trial, which lasted six months.
Latest figures revealed there were 150,000 people in the UK living with MS. While there are therapies available to help the immune system, the gradual erosion of the nerves is not targeted which ultimately leads to long-term disability.