Protein skin patch for MS

Myelin, the coating of nerves, is composed of proteins.   A skin patch was developed with a mixture of three myelin protein segments called peptides  (MBP85-99, MOG35-55, and PLP139-155).   A one year double-blind, placebo controlled study was completed with 30 MS patients with relapsing-remitting disease.  Compared with placebo, the 1 mg myelin-peptide skin patch dropped active contrast-enhancing MRI lesions by 66.5% (P = .02, statistically significant).  Relapses were also reduce in the group of patients treated with the peptide mixture compared to placebo (annualized relapse rate : 0.43 on treatment vs 1.4 on placebo; P = .007 statistically significant).  The patch treatment was well tolerated and no serious adverse events were reported.   This study is definitely intriguing and will need follow-up in a larger study since only performed in 30 patients.