Uploaded May 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
Ideally, we would want to deliver MS drug therapies directly to the source of inflammation, the brain. This is likely to mean that they have their greatest effect and keeping side effects to a minimum. Unfortunately, the body has many processes in place to stop this happening easily and developing ways to deliver drugs straight into the brain is challenging.
Mitoxantrone (MTX) (Novantrone) is a drug that has been registered to treat MS in Australia (and overseas) for many years and is known to be effective in preventing relapses. The use of MTX however, has been limited by significant side effects, such as heart toxicity and leukaemia, which become riskier with each subsequent dose, thereby preventing widespread use in many people living with MS.
In the laboratory, Associate Professor Bruestle and her team have developed a way to package the MTX drug into a fat-based particle, called a liposome, which may act as a shuttle to take the drug inside the brain. By doing this, the MTX can be delivered to the site of inflammation. Additionally, the serious side effects may be minimised using this technique as the MTX is kept away from healthy tissue and lower levels of the MTX are needed to achieve the same effect.
This type of study is known as a “proof of concept” study (POC), and if successful, the hope is that the technique could be explored in other drug treatments for MS, enabling them to also enter the brain to have their greatest effect and to minimise side effects.
Ideally, we would want to deliver MS drug therapies directly to the source of inflammation, the brain. This is likely to mean that they have their greatest effect and keeping side effects to a minimum. Unfortunately, the body has many processes in place to stop this happening easily and developing ways to deliver drugs straight into the brain is challenging.
Mitoxantrone (MTX) (Novantrone) is a drug that has been registered to treat MS in Australia (and overseas) for many years and is known to be effective in preventing relapses. The use of MTX however, has been limited by significant side effects, such as heart toxicity and leukaemia, which become riskier with each subsequent dose, thereby preventing widespread use in many people living with MS.
In the laboratory, Associate Professor Bruestle and her team have developed a way to package the MTX drug into a fat-based particle, called a liposome, which may act as a shuttle to take the drug inside the brain. By doing this, the MTX can be delivered to the site of inflammation. Additionally, the serious side effects may be minimised using this technique as the MTX is kept away from healthy tissue and lower levels of the MTX are needed to achieve the same effect.
This type of study is known as a “proof of concept” study (POC), and if successful, the hope is that the technique could be explored in other drug treatments for MS, enabling them to also enter the brain to have their greatest effect and to minimise side effects.
