Hope for multiple sclerosis patients? Experimental drug improved vision and movement

An NIH-supported study found that an experimental drug called K-9 improved motor function and vision in mice with a multiple sclerosis-like disease. Meanwhile, an analysis of health insurance data from over three million people found a link between antiviral drugs and lower rates of multiple sclerosis diagnoses. The drug has not yet been proven as a treatment in humans.

A new study, supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and published on September 23 in the journal Science Translational Medicine, points to a possible therapeutic direction for multiple sclerosis. Researchers gave an experimental drug called K-9 to mice that had already developed signs of a multiple sclerosis-like disease and reported improvements in motor function and vision. According to the researchers, the drug works by inhibiting an inflammatory mechanism in the nervous system and may protect nerve fibers and the myelin sheath. Concurrently, an analysis of health insurance claims data from over three million people found lower rates of multiple sclerosis diagnoses among those who received antiviral drugs that are research-related to K-9. However, the article emphasizes that this is an observational association that does not prove the drugs prevented the disease, and that K-9 has not yet been proven as a treatment for multiple sclerosis in humans.