How Pre-Existing Drugs May Help Fight Multiple Sclerosis

After narrowing the possible drugs down to 249, the research team then examined each of those different drugs to see what impact they had on iron levels. Researchers needed to find a drug that prevented iron-induced damage to the nerve cells since patients dealing with progressive MS already have complications involving their iron levels. Using this rubric, they were able to narrow the list down to 35. Next, the researchers tested each of these 35 different drugs to see if they were capable of protecting mitochondria and to see if they could have a positive impact on the immune system also attacked by the neurological disease. This process ultimately yielded a few different antidepressants that are capable of reducing the production of T-cells and mitigating damage to mitochondria.