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Scope 63 - Optimizing the use of antipsychotic medicines for Multiple Sclerosis

7 August 2017

Professor Anne La Flamme and her Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research group recently published encouraging results of preclinical work involving atypical antipsychotic agents (AAP) such as risperidone and clozapine modifying the inflammatory environment within the central nervous system in the international journal Multiple Sclerosis Journal – Experimental, Translational, and Clinical.

Building on research which demonstrated the ability of the AAP risperidone and clozapine to modify the disease course in an animal model of MS, the research group aimed to further investigate how best to administer clozapine as a possible treatment for MS.

Results of this study show that orally administered clozapine significantly reduced disease severity, and the level of reduction was dependent on the dose. It was also effective when administered before and after the onset of symptoms. In comparison to other AAP, clozapine was the best at reducing disease severity. While clozapine had only modest effect the body’s immune cells, it had significant effect on immune cells in the central nervous system – our brain’s immune cells.

These studies indicate that clozapine is an effective immunomodulatory agent with the potential to treat immune-mediated diseases such as MS.