Beauty Tips: Skin Care Cream May Cure Multiple Sclerosis Reveals Study - Find Out How

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Two ingredients found in non-prescription antifungal skin creams commonly used for treating eczema and athlete's foot could help repair the nerve damage caused by multiple sclerosis, according to a new research.

The US research team that made the surprising discovery found that the anti-fungal agents, miconazole and steroid clobetasol, could "un-paralyze" or restore the movement of mice paralyzed by MS by stimulating the regeneration of brain cells, according to the Scientific American. The results were published online last April 20 in the journal Nature.

The drugs were given to the mice by injection. Results showed that it increased their myelin cell count, the coating that protects the nerve cells, and oligodendrocytes, the cells that produce myelin. Before finding these two compounds, the scientists led by Paul Tesar of Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and co-author of the study screened more than 700 drugs that are FDA approved to be used on patients.

Myelin transmits neural signals along the nerves and without it, a patient's motor abilities, such as walking or lifting things, could be affected. The US team's new approach is to create a source of myelin in the nervous system, according to Techie News.

"To replace damaged cells, much of the stem cell field has focused on direct transplantation of stem cell-derived tissues for regenerative medicine, and that approach is likely to provide enormous benefit down the road," Tesar said. "But here we asked if we could find a faster and less invasive approach by using drugs to activate native stem cells already in the adult nervous system and direct them to form new myelin. Our ultimate goal was to enhance the body's ability to repair itself."

The team found seven drugs that could transform stem cell to oligodendrocyte and primarily focused on the top two drugs, miconazole and clobetasol.

"The drugs we identified are able to enhance the regenerative capacity of stem cells in the adult nervous system," said Dr Robert Miller via The Herald, a member of the US team from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio. "This truly represents a paradigm shift in how we think about restoring function to multiple sclerosis patients."

While the drugs show promising results in mice, their effects on human patients are largely still unknown unless actual clinical trials are conducted. The research team is optimistic as their testing on human stem cells have a similar response to the mice cells and it showed that the medication worked well.

Further research and trial are needed for the drugs to advance to clinical testing. However, Tesar warned of the potential danger of using the drugs prematurely.

"We appreciate that some patients or their families feel they cannot wait for the development of specific approved medications," Tesar said via Medical Xpress, "But off-label use of the current forms of these drugs is more likely to increase other health concerns than alleviate multiple sclerosis symptoms. We are working tirelessly to ready a safe and effective drug for clinical use."