How do small molecules interact in the brains of people with MS?
Sodium plays a number of key roles in the body. For example, changing levels of sodium are essential for messages to be able to travel down nerve fibres. In people living with MS, sodium levels can be elevated. And this increase in sodium is connected to higher levels of disability and progressive forms of MS.
Other small molecules, called metabolites, are also essential for signalling in the brain. Researchers now want to know if changes in these metabolites are related to changes in the sodium that we have seen in people with MS.
But traditional MRI techniques used to measure metabolites and sodium are very time-consuming and noisy.
About the project
Professor Wheeler-Kingshott and her team now want to develop new MRI techniques that will make measuring metabolites and sodium faster and less noisy, and create better quality scans.
Using 3D maps of the brain created with these MRI scans, the team will compare sodium levels and metabolites in three different groups:
- people with early relapsing-remitting MS
- people with progressive MS
- people living without MS
This way, they’ll be able to see if sodium levels are linked to metabolites, and how this connection changes with different stages in the condition.
How will it help people with MS?
By looking at the relationship between sodium and metabolites, we will be able to learn more about the underlying processes at different stages of MS. This could help researchers find new targets for potential treatments.
Additionally, the new, faster MRI techniques will be more comfortable for patients. They could be used to monitor the progression of MS in healthcare settings. Or they may be used to test how well new drugs work in clinical trials.
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