While inflammation often causes damage to the nerves of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, a group of HBI researchers has been studying how neuroinflammation can instead be harnessed to repair the damage caused by this disease.

Dr. V.W. Yong’s laboratory set out to test whether a drug that is used to treat MS symptoms, Copaxone or glatiramer acetate (GA), could also play a role in repairing the covering of nerves that have been damaged by MS.  

In an article published in the June 25th edition of the journal Neuron, researchers at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, have found that synaptic plasticity, long implicated as a device for ‘change’ in the brain, may also be essential for stability.

Homeostasis, the body’s own mechanism of regulating and maintaining internal balance in the body, is necessary for survival. Precisely how the brain pulls off this tricky balancing act has not been well appreciated.

Clinical scientists at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute are starting the first pilot study looking at the delivery of insulin via the nasal passageway as a potential new treatment for diabetic neuropathy (DPN).

About 50 per cent of people with diabetes will develop DPN, a debilitating and painful nerve disease.  Current treatment is limited to pain management only.

Cory Toth, MD, fellow, Lawrence Korngut, MD, and colleagues, have demonstrated that intransal insulin helps protect nerves in the brain and central nervous sysem (cns) of mice.  It also slowed the progression of DPN and prolonged lifespan in comparison to subcutaneous insulin.  These findings were published earlier this year in the journals Brain and Diabetes.

Injury of the peripheral nerves, such as the nerves in your arms, is common and often results in a loss of function or sensation.  Although these nerves have the capacity to regenerate and reconnect, recovery is often limited to short distances and outcomes remain relatively poor.