Brain protein may unlock key to MS treatment - study

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Scientists have made significant progress in finding the cause of multiple sclerosis (MS), discovering the presence of a protein in brain tissue that may help lead to a treatment for the disease that affects 2.5 million people worldwide.

Researchers at the University of Exeter in the UK and the University of Alberta in Canada found large quantities of the protein Rab32 in brain tissue samples taken from people who had MS but was almost entirely absent in those without the condition.

The protein can cause cells that store calcium to get too close to the mitochondria, an energy-producing membrane, causing it to misbehave, according to the research published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation.

Scientists previously believed that the mitochondria played a role in MS but were unable to uncover why. The cause of the increase in Rab32 is still unknown, but...