Patrizia LoPresti
University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
Title: Glatiramer acetate reveals both remitting and progressive processes in an animal model of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis
Biography
Biography: Patrizia LoPresti
Abstract
LoPresti (2015) determined the cognitive abilities of mice with relapsing-remitting experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) treated with and without glatiramer acetate (GA) compared with naïve mice. We found that untreated mice with EAE had a significant rate of decrease in memory function over time compared to naïve mice. In contrast, EAE mice treated with GA had a much lower rate of decrease in memory function. Thus, relapsing-remitting EAE unfavorably influences short-term memory and early GA treatment partially protects against memory loss. Of particular interest, although EAE mice had memory decline over 30 days post immunization, their clinical disease scores improved during that time. These findings highlight for the first time degenerative progressive processes during a remitting disease course. The significance of these findings applies to multiple sclerosis and other dementias. Early in the course of degenerative neurological diseases, specific events occur with unrelenting effects on memory function. Moreover, it also shows that the relapsing-remitting form of multiple sclerosis might have underlying degenerative processes that are ongoing yet undetected. It raises the possibility that looks can be deceiving in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Indeed, both remitting and relapsing disease processes might all be present to various degrees at the onset of this disease. Finally, drug treatments are bound to work on the progressive aspects of this disease when given earlier in the disease process.