Researchers may have found a way to reverse damage to nerves caused by multiple sclerosis, according to a study by scientists at the universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh. A report by AFP said the team "identified a mechanism essential to regenerating myelin sheaths - the layers of insulation that protect nerve fibres in the brain - and showed how it could be used to make the brain's own stem cells undertake this repair."

"Therapies that repair damage are the missing link in treating multiple sclerosis," said Professor Robin Franklin, director of the MS Society's Cambridge Centre for Myelin Repair at the University of Cambridge.

"In this study we have identified a means by which the brain's own stem cells can be encouraged to undertake this repair, opening up the possibility of a new regenerative medicine for this devastating disease."

This is a legitimately huge finding, and the story was really well written for such a short article. The story noted that clinical trials were still likely five years away, and any therapeutic would be at least 15 years away, so readers know that this isn't a "miracle/breakthrough" that they should expect to see on shelves soon. It also identified the funders (Britain and the US's MS societies) and had a decent graphic of MS.

I like the quote by Britain's MS society chief executive Gillespie, who said, "It's hard to put into words how revolutionary this discovery could be and how critical it is to continue research into MS."