Scientists find way to stop multiple sclerosis

In a major breakthrough in the battle against multiple sclerosis, scientists claim to have identified a chemical that triggers the devastating disease and also found a way to stop it in its tracks. HT Image Researchers at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, found that an immune system chemical, called GM-CSF, is the "driving force" behind the debilitating condition that affects over 2.5 million people worldwide. Although the experiments were on mice, the researchers said they were "quietly optimistic" that a similar approach would help people with MS. But in MS, it triggers a series of reactions that culminate in "scavenger cells" destroying myelin -- the fatty protective sheath around nerve fibres in the brain and spinal cord -- which disrupts the transmission of messages from the brain. "This is similar to the clinical situation -- patients don't go to the doctor because they think they might get MS, they go when they have MS." The drug was also given to mice whose disease was similar to the most common form of MS, in which relapses are followed by periods of remission.