Moses Rodriguez, M.D.

Multiple sclerosis is a disabling disease of the nervous system affecting a million people worldwide. One third of those are in the United States.

It is caused by degeneration of something called the myelin sheath. Myelin is the coating that shields and protects the fibers of the central nervous system, not unlike the coating on the outside of an electrical cord.

An infection or some other internal injury may cause the myelin to swell and detach from the nerve. Then scar tissue forms or scleroses over the nerve fibers. That blocks signals to and from the brain, hindering a person's mobility. That is multiple sclerosis.

Larry Pease, Ph.D.

Mayo researcher Moses Rodriguez, M.D. discovered a type of antibody in mice that repairs the lesions caused by damaged myelin. He began collaborating with hematologist Robert Kyle, M.D. and basic scientist Larry Pease, Ph.D. to identify similar antibodies --derived not from mice -- but from Mayo Clinic patients. Unlike traditional antibodies, which fight infection as part of our immune system, these antibodies act more like a hormone, regulating cell function in the body. In this case, the antibody is therapeutic, repairing spinal cord lesions in mice with MS-like conditions. Significantly, this antibody also binds to human myelin-producing cells. Will it work to help MS patients? We'll soon know.

One of those antibodies has been isolated by Drs. Pease and Rodriguez and will be tested in clinical trials overseen by Brian Weinshenker, M.D. later this year.