OTC drug may reverse chronic vision damage caused by multiple sclerosis

A common, over-the-counter antihistamine used to treat symptoms of allergies and the common cold, called clemastine fumarate, partially reversed damage to the visual system in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in a preliminary study that will be presented today at the American Academy of Neurology's 68th Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Canada, April 15 to 21, 2016.

The study involved people with MS and optic neuropathy, which is damage to the nerve that sends information from the eye to the brain. In people with MS, the immune system destroys myelin, the protective coating around the nerves, which then leads to damage along the nerves, slowing signals to and from the brain. Optic nerve damage is a common consequence of the disease.

"This study is exciting because it is the first to demonstrate possible repair of that protective coating in people with chronic demyelination from MS," said study author Ari Green of the Multiple Sclerosis Center at UC San Francisco, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "This was done using a drug that was identified at UCSF only two-and-a-half years ago as an agent with the potential to help with brain repair," Dr Green added.