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Gene therapy of multiple sclerosis

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Gene Therapy for Autoimmune and Inflammatory Diseases

Part of the book series: Milestones in Drug Therapy ((MDT))

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) constitutes a difficult challenge for the design of innovative therapies: the aetiology is unknown, the pathogenesis only partially understood, and the whole process is multi-focal, chronic, and occurring beyond anatomical barriers, making the delivery of potentially therapeutic molecules difficult. Gene therapy, thus, constitutes a realistic alternative to ensure prolonged, and site-specific delivery of therapies. Recent advancements in the comprehension of the immunopathological processes leading to central nervous system inflammation, and the development of new gene therapy tools, such as RNA-interference, are rapidly leading to a large array of possibilities of intervention, documented in the present review in its animal model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Since progressive forms of MS remain orphan of efficient therapies, the field is open for less conventional interventions such as gene therapy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Neuroimmunology and Neuroimmunology Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Department of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Via Olgettina 58, 20132, Milan, Italy

    Roberto Furlan, Chiara Maiorino, Alberto Gatta, Francesca Ruffini & Gianvito Martino

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  1. Roberto Furlan
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  2. Chiara Maiorino
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  3. Alberto Gatta
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  4. Francesca Ruffini
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  5. Gianvito Martino
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Bone and Joint Research Unit Barts and The London School of Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London, EC1M 6BQ, UK

    Yuti Chernajovsky

  2. Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Paul D. Robbins

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Furlan, R., Maiorino, C., Gatta, A., Ruffini, F., Martino, G. (2010). Gene therapy of multiple sclerosis. In: Chernajovsky, Y., Robbins, P.D. (eds) Gene Therapy for Autoimmune and Inflammatory Diseases. Milestones in Drug Therapy. Springer, Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0346-0165-8_5

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