Dynamics of central remyelination and treatment evolution in a model of Multiple Sclerosis with Optic Coherence Tomography

Abstract

The need for remyelinating drugs is essential for healing important diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). One of the reasons for the lack of this class of therapies is the impossibility to follow remyelination in vivo, which is of utmost importance to perform good clinical trials. Here, we show how the optical coherence tomography (OCT), a cheap and non-invasive technique commonly used in ophthalmology, may be used to follow remyelination in vivo in MS patients. Our pioneer study validates the study of myelin/remyelination in the optic nerve using OCT and reflects what is occurring in non accessible CNS structures, like the spinal cord. For this study we used the oral bioavailable small molecule VP3.15, confirming its therapeutical potential as neuroprotective, antinflammatory and remyelinating drug for MS. Altogether, our present results confirm the usefulness of OCT to monitor the effectivity of remyelinating therapies in vivo and underscore the relevance of VP3.15 as potential disease modifying drug for MS therapy.