Multiple Sclerosis
LIFNano's lead indication is to treat Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a disabling incurable auto-immune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) commonly affecting young adults and involving 100,000 people in the UK alone. Inflammatory damage to the nerve's protective myelin sheath - demyelination - is the hallmark of MS that progressively or intermittently causes a wide range of symptoms as specific nerves become inflamed and lose function. Currently available therapies are mainly limited to immunosuppression and do not prevent progression of disease that is linked to the irreversible loss of nerves.
The LIFNano approach to MS provides therapeutic synergy for (i) suppression of auto-immune attack and (ii) repair of myelin within damaged CNS tissue.
If you or someone you know has been newly diagnosed, please find clear and informative information about the condition here
Neurodegenerative diseases
Contrary to the image of being static inside the skull, neurons are plastic and exquisitely sensitive to their environment that is continuously fluctuating. In turn, neurons constantly exert forces on their environment. The overall mechanical and chemical signals in the Central Nervous System are critically balanced and when the balance is distorted beyond recovery, death of the neuron is triggered, for example due to physical force following brain trauma.
Neurodegenerative diseases - a huge unmet medical need - are often preceded by inflammation. Inflammation perturbs the normal dynamic equilibrium of the neuron altering its environment and causing adverse metabolic changes. When the inflammation becomes chronic, a vicious cycle of inflammatory damage predisposes to death of neurons as their ability to function correctly is compromised, leading to neurodegeneration. We know that both LIF and IL-6 play key roles in the CNS, appearing to act in concert to maintain the healthy environment of the brain. However, too much IL-6 - as may occur in inflammation - may suppress LIF. To recover the normal dynamic equilibrium between LIF and IL-6, delivery of LIF via LIFNano therapy may break the vicious cycle of chronic inflammation within the CNS. Furthermore, since LIF is both neurogenic and neuroprotective, LIF is able to promote differentiation of resident neural stem cells in the brain and support their survival - with the potential of replacing at least some of the diseased neurons with healthy precursors.
Live image of a neuron during mechanical touching of the neuron's tip of the extended axon. This results in a rapid influx of calcium ions into and along the axon. Atomic-force microscopy image is kindly provided by Kristian Franze, University of Cambridge.
Regenerative Medicine
A Cell-free, Drug-free, Regenerative Medicinal providing RegMed Solutions without RegMed Problems
LIFNano overcomes the two key barriers to regenerative medicine using cell or tissue grafts: (i) immune rejection of the graft and (ii) risk of biologic contamination. As a cell-free, viral-free, regenerative medicinal LIF-Nano restores the body's own reparative immunity, reducing or limiting the need for prescription drugs. Unlike cell-based approaches, LIFNano's products are free from graft rejection or contaminating biological agents.