TEN years ago he went to the United States to do cutting-edge research in a little-explored field in Italy: the study of the autopsy brain tissue of patients with multiple sclerosis combined with very high-field magnetic resonance studies. Martina Absinta thus arrives at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and then becomes an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and continues to study how chronic inflammation in the multiple sclerosis (MS) plaques prevents the brain from repair themselves appropriately, and on the other hand open the way to new potential therapeutic approaches to slow down the degenerative process of this disease. Precisely in the year of the outbreak of the pandemic, Absinta returned to her country of origin with a rich baggage of research and international experiences to share with her Italian colleagues. Her research and the results it led to earned her Rita Levi Montalcini Award, recognition with which the Italian Multiple Sclerosis Association, with its FISM Foundation, enhances young researchers. “I am deeply honored and I would like to thank FISM and AISM for this important recognition. I would also like to thank all people with MS and their families for being active protagonists of scientific research and its successes ”.
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The searches
Neuropathologists had long ago identified, in the autopsy tissues of patients with a progressive form of the disease, the presence of a particular type of lesions called “chronically active” but, up to 10 years ago, they had not been identified by magnetic resonance imaging. ” The new technology, developed with 7 Tesla machines, has finally allowed us to observe them also in the images collected in vivo from patients. These lesions, specific to human disease, slowly expand over time, and the demyelination at their edge continues to damage axons for years. We have to think that we have hotspots in the brain (literally hot spots) that continue to cause damage without being aware of it, ”explains Absinta.
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In patients, following the trend of these lesions since their birth, it has been seen that inflammation prevents their repair, thus remaining completely demyelinated. “In 2019, a further study of mine showed that these lesions are one of the contributing factors to the progression of multiple sclerosis: people with many chronically active lesions have earlier onset physical and cognitive disabilities than those who do not,” he continues. the neurologist. More recently, Absinta analyzed the single-cell transcriptomic profile of more than 66,000 cells present at the edge and center of the chronically active lesion in MS patients, as well as in the adjacent white matter. After comparing them with those of subjects without neurological diseases, the neurologist then reconstructed an extremely detailed map of cell populations and their interactions. Now this map can help identify cellular mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets for stopping chronic inflammation.
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The next challenge
“The next step is to get this ‘resonance biomarker’ – chronically active lesions – into clinical trials of new drugs. It is also necessary to better study the impact of existing therapies on chronically active lesions. I think this effort parallels that of identifying new neuro-protective and re-myelinating treatments ”, concludes Absinta.
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