Healthcare (Commonwealth Union) – Researchers behind a key study have indicated that they are close to a new generation of treatments and that these results bring us nearer to halting the progression of MS.
The trial tested a combination of metformin, a widely used diabetes medication, and clemastine, an antihistamine. Together, they appear to support the repair of myelin—the protective layer surrounding nerves that is damaged in multiple sclerosis (MS), leading to symptoms such as fatigue, pain, muscle spasms, and mobility issues.
These early findings come from the phase two clinical trial known as CCMR-Two, conducted by the University of Cambridge’s Department of Clinical Neurosciences and supported by the MS Society.
Previous work in animals indicated that metformin boosts the impact of clemastine on repairing myelin, but this is the first time the two drugs have been tested together in humans. The results were unveiled today at the annual European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), one of the world’s leading MS research conferences.
Dr Nick Cunniffe, who is a clinical lecturer in Neurology at Cambridge, and the lead of the CCMR-Two trial stated that he is increasingly certain that remyelination is part of the solution to halting progressive disability in MS.
“We still need to research the long-term benefits and side effects before people with MS consider taking these drugs. But my instinct is that we are on the brink of a new class of treatments to stop MS progression, and within the next decade we could see the first licensed treatment that repairs myelin and improves the lives of people living with MS.”
Researchers of the study pointed out that more than 150,000 people in the UK are affected by MS. Although around 20 disease-modifying therapies are available for relapsing MS, and a few are beginning to emerge for active progressive MS, many thousands still have no effective treatment options.
Current medications mainly target the immune system, but they don’t prevent the steady nerve damage that causes long-term disability. Researchers believe that protecting nerves and enhancing the body’s natural ability to restore myelin—the protective coating around them—could pave the way for new approaches.
Dr Emma Gray, Director of Research at the MS Society indicated that they urgently need treatments that can safeguard nerves and replace lost myelin, and this study gives them genuine hope that myelin repair drugs could become part of the MS treatment toolkit.
She further pointed out that the findings are incredibly promising and may mark a major shift in how MS is managed.
Around 70 people living with relapsing MS participated in the six-month trial. Half received the drug combination, while the other half were given a placebo. To measure how effective the treatment was, researchers relied on a ‘visual evoked potential’ test, which tracks how quickly signals move from the eyes to the brain. Over the six months, signal speed declined in the placebo group but stayed stable among those taking the drugs.
Despite the fact that this main result was positive, experts pointed out that participants did not notice any positive results in how they felt. The advantage of repairing myelin lies in shielding and preserving damaged nerves, stopping them from deteriorating further over time. Scientists expect that remyelination therapies could influence disability levels in the longer term, something they plan to investigate in future studies.
Researchers also stress that MS is only the starting point. Protecting the brain before permanent damage occurs is critical in all neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Together, these conditions cost the UK hundreds of billions of pounds and place a huge strain on the NHS and caregivers.
One participant, 43-year-old Hannah Threlfell from Abington, was diagnosed with relapsing MS in 2019 after suffering from optic neuritis. She joined the CCMR-Two trial in the hope of helping future generations.
