Meet the Cambridge Scientist Working to Cure Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

There are quite a few articles out there at the moment with the headline “Meet Cambridge Scientist On Verge Of Curing Multiple Sclerosis.” Unfortunately, this headline is slightly misleading. Whilst there is a Cambridge scientist conducting research to try to combat MS, suggesting that Su Metcalfe is on the brink of success is premature.

What is Multiple Sclerosis?

First off, let’s look at what the science is allegedly curing. MS stands for multiple sclerosis. It’s a neurological condition that affects the nerves in the brain and spinal cord. It’s an auto-immune condition that affects 2.3 million people around the world. According to the UK MS Trust, “‘Sclerosis’ means scarring or hardening of tiny patches of tissue. ‘Multiple’ is added because this happens at more than one place in the brain and/or spinal cord.” Basically, it can cause all manner of symptoms depending on whereabouts the scars or lesions form. From plain old pain to issues with balance and coordination, memory problems and vision symptoms, almost anything can occur with MS. (1, 2)

University Research

Su Metcalfe, a scientist with the University of Cambridge, has combined nanotechnology with the human body to come up with something that could help those with MS. This technology’s applications could even transfer to other illnesses. (2)

“Some people get progressive MS, so go straight to the severe form of the disease, but the majority have a relapsing or remitting version,” Metcalfe said in an interview with British website Cambridgeshire Live. “It can start from the age of 30, and there’s no cure, so all you can do is suppress the immune response, but the drugs that do that have side effects, and you can’t repair the brain. The cost of those drugs is very high, and in the UK there are a lot of people who don’t get treated at all.” (2)

Multiple Sclerosis and LIF

She continues, “I discovered a small binary switch, controlled by a LIF, which regulates inside the immune cell itself. LIF is able to control the cell to ensure it doesn’t attack your own body but then releases the attack when needed.” (2) A LIF is a type of stem cell particle that only survives outside the cell for twenty minutes before the body breaks it down. So, a good idea, but poor in timescale. Twenty minutes isn’t long enough for any form of treatment to take place.

This LIF is pretty important though. As Metcalfe explains it, “in addition to regulating and protecting us against attack, also plays a major role in keeping the brain and spinal cord healthy. In fact, it plays a major role in tissue repair generally, turning on stem cells that are naturally occurring in the body, making it a natural regenerative medicine, but also plays a big part in repairing the brain when it’s been damaged.” (2)

Treating Multiple Sclerosis

“So I thought, this is fantastic. We can treat auto-immune disease, and we’ve got something to treat MS, which attacks both the brain and the spinal cord. So you have a double whammy that can stop and reverse the auto-immunity, and also repair the damage caused in the brain.” (2)

On the subject of her nanotechnology, Metcalfe says that “they are made from the same material as soluble stitches, so they’re compatible with the body and they slowly dissolve. We load the cargo of the LIF into those particles, which become the delivery device that slowly dissolve and deliver the LIF over five days. The nanoparticle itself is a protective environment, and the enzymes that break it down can’t access it. You can also decorate the surface of the particles with antibodies, so it becomes a homing device that can target specific parts of the brain, for example. So you get the right dose, in the right place, and at the right time.” (2)

A Cure for MS?

Although the project was the Winner of the Most Promising Nanomedicine Project 2017 from the Nanomedicine Awards, the research at this point is just that – promising. There have been no human trials yet, with these not on the cards until 2020 at the earliest, and then it takes a number of years for things to get moving from there. Another point to note is that the word “cure” suggests that this research could reverse damage to nerve cells caused by MS. Although it may appear that Metcalfe believes her technology can reverse the damage, conflicting reports suggest that research so far would be unable to reverse the damage. Therefore, at this stage, to label it a cure is misleading and unfair to those who may read it and gain hope. (3, 4)