Lipitor Said to Reverse Symptoms of MS in Mice
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
The cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor, a member of the new family of drugs called statins, can reverse many of the symptoms of multiple sclerosis in mice, Stanford researchers reported at the Experimental Biology 2002 meeting in New Orleans.
The drug apparently reduces the production of immune proteins that stimulate inflammation and increases production of those that suppress it.
Dr. Sawsan Youssef and Dr. Lawrence Steinman found that Lipitor could prevent both the relapsing and acute forms of an MS-like disease in mice when administered before the disease was triggered. The drug also could reverse symptoms in mice with the chronic relapsing form of the disease.
