This week’s publication is from the neurology section. Dr. Kristin Varhaug is the first author of the study:
Increased levels of cell-free mitochondrial DNA in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with multiple sclerosis
Mitochondrion. 2016 Dec 23. pii: S1567-7249(16)30285-9. doi: 10.1016/j.mito.2016.12.003. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 28017684
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) can act as damage-associated molecular pattern molecule (DAMP) and initiate an inflammatory response. We hypothesized that the concentration of mtDNA might reflect inflammatory activity in multiple sclerosis and, therefore, investigated levels of cell-free mitochondrial DNA in cerebrospinal fluid from patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Significantly higher levels of mtDNA were found in patients compared to controls and there was an inverse correlation between disease duration and the concentration of mtDNA. Our study suggests that mitochondria can be involved early in multiple sclerosis, but whether this is as an initiator of the inflammatory response, part of its maintenance or a secondary phenomenon is unclear. Nevertheless, our study suggests that changes in mtDNA may provide a novel marker for early disease activity.
Bildet er hentet fra følgeden nettside
Kristin Varhaug has recently also published a review on the role of mitochondria in the degenerative processes of multiple sclerosis:
Multiple sclerosis – a mitochondria-mediated disease?
Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen. 2017 Feb 21;137(4):284-287. doi: 10.4045/tidsskr.16.0210. eCollection 2017 Feb 21. Norwegian.
Kristin Varhaug has applied for a PhD scholarship to pursue her interesting new findings that suggest multiple sclerosis is not only an inflammatory, but also a degenerative disease.