Autoimmune disease

Cell culture and mouse studies suggest the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) clomipramine could help treat MS. Screening a library of oral generic drugs that cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in a human neuron cell line treated with ferrous iron -- which causes neurotoxicity in progressive MS -- identified 35 drugs, including clomipramine, that increased survival compared with no treatment. In the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mouse model of acute MS, clomipramine decreased clinical disease scores, weight loss, inflammatory cell infiltration in the meninges and axonal damage in the brain compared with vehicle. In EAE mouse models of chronic MS and secondary progressive MS, clomipramine decreased clinical disease scores. Next steps include testing undisclosed generic drugs identified in the screen in progressive MS patients...