Skin cells that may help MS patients

SCIENTISTS believe they may be able to use a patient’s own skin cells to help repair the damage caused by multiple sclerosis (MS).

The disease occurs when immune cells mistakenly attack the protective fatty sheaths that surround nerves, causing inflammation and damage. However, in work on mice, researchers at the University of Cambridge have found they can re-programme skin cells into the type of stem cells found in the brain and when these cells are transplanted into the nervous system, they reduce inflammation — the hope is that they may also help repair damage, too. Unlike stem cells from donors — already used to help with MS — using a patient’s own stem cells brings no risk of rejection. More research is now planned.