Dec
26
At age 30, filmmaker Jason DaSilva sees the world through a grainy, shaky lens and shuffles around his Manhattan neighborhood with the aid of a walker. DaSilva’s vision problems and weakness are symptoms of his multiple sclerosis, known as MS, a disease caused by the deterioration of brain cells and the fatty membranes that encase them.
DaSilva’s MS is the progressive form, which affects 15 to 20 percent of the 400,000 MS sufferers nationwide. Unlike acute MS, in which physical deterioration periodically starts and stops, there is no treatment for the progressive form. Although DaSilva’s disease hasn’t kept him from pursuing his passion — his films have been screened at more than 30 festivals, including Sundance — his symptoms keep getting worse.
A discovery by researchers at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., however, may open the door to new treatment options for patients like DaSilva. Scientists found that MS patients had elevated concentrations of an enzyme called Kallikrein 6, or KLK6, in their bloodstreams, and that those with the highest KLK6 levels were the most disabled by MS.
The study also found that the enzyme injured brain cells in mice. Researchers postulate that deactivating KLK6 could slow the progression of an MS-like condition in mice, and they hope to develop a similar treatment for progressive MS in humans.
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