Lisinopril heart med 4 MS?

[LiL]

There is an artical published August 17, 2009 at WebMD titled:

Blood Pressure Drug May Help Treat MS
Study Shows Lisinopril Blocks Multiple Sclerosis in Lab Mice
by Jennifer Warner

http://www.webmd.com/multiple-sclerosis/news/20090817/blood-pressure-drug-may-help-treat-ms

It states "...when the drug was given to mice with full-blown symptoms of multiple sclerosis, it reversed their paralysis without affecting their overall immunity."

I just wondered if this is true or if anybody has heard of this claim being false.

Also, how do you breed mice to have MS when we do not know what causes it?

[Redwings]

Also, how do you breed mice to have MS when we do not know what causes it?

Hi LiL:
The mice don't have MS, they have EAE -- experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, also known as experimental allergic encephalomyelitis. I'm a little surprised that an authority site like WebMD would be so imprecise in its headline and vague in the article.

EAE is the closest thing to human MS that exists in animals. Having an animal model of MS is important because it allows experimentation that isn't feasible in humans. (Here'a link for more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experim...ephalomyelitis.)

The drawback to EAE is that is isn't exactly MS and mice aren't human. So things that work in an animal model of EAE don't always translate to successful use in humans with MS.

There's no reason to believe that the results of a mouse study that are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences aren't true. But there's also no reason to get overly excited about a mouse study, either.

There was a thread here about this last year. From what I remember, the folks who were taking lisinopril didn't report any special benefit to their MS. I have NMO, not MS, but the lisinopril I've been taking for years hasn't prevented me from having flare-ups about every 5 months or help me to recover back to baseline afterward.

[billp]

ACE Inhibitor

I read the same article and asked my cardio about it. I was on an Angiotensin Receptor Blocker for BP control and I switched to the ACE Inhibitor lisinopril. I have been taking lisinopril for over 6 months and have noticed no improvement in MS sx. BP is nearly the same with both meds. I have SPMS and i am in the early cane phase of the disability scale.

I have taken Lisinopril to control my increased BP from steroids. I have not noticed that it has done anything more than help with the BP. When I took it longer, I actually felt worse because my BP was low.

[GinnyRuth]

I noticed no MS symptom improvement while on lisinopril.

[ewizabeth]

Lisinopril is the only BP med to help my blood pressure since I was diagnosed with MS. I had a terrible time getting my blood pressure under control, especially after steroid treatments.

Lisinopril has worked best for me to get it stabilized. But I have to confess, I am not a mouse, but a human with MS.

[GinnyRuth]

Wizabeth-my BP has been pretty high lately. My Doc. just changed me to Diltiazem especially trying to get my heart rate slowed down. I still have lisinopril as a backup if it gets too high. Have a great Labor Day! It is beautiful here in So. Md.