New Drug Reboots Immune System, Reverses MS

In what’s great news for multiple sclerosis sufferers, and interesting scientific news in general, scientists have created a drug that actually can reverse MS. The drug, called Alemtuzumab essentially “reboots” the immune system.

MS disables nerves and brain tissue by attacking the myelin sheaths that normally protect them from damage. Alemtuzumab works by destroying all the patients’ lymphocytes, the T-and B-cells that normally fight infections, but which mistakenly attack nerves and brain tissue.  After the treatment, the immune system grows back, but without the cells that cause MS.

[via New Scientist]