Currently available therapeutic agents approved for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) reduce relapse rates, but do not reverse or prevent neurodegeneration nor initiate myelin repair. There is thus a great need for effective therapies against MS. Scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, led by Dr. John Katzenellenbogen, have developed novel chloroindazole analogs that show particular promise in promoting remyelination while reducing inflammatory cytokines in mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). These novel MS drugs are specific for ERβ and have tremendous potential for the treatment of MS. The compounds are more superior to other estrogenic drugs due to their specificity for ERβ and lack of undesirable effects such as feminization and increased risk of cancer.
