Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a devastating disease that effects millions of people all over the world.

The disease attacks the nerve cells in the brain and the spinal chord and can lead to a wide variety of both physical and mental symptoms that include double vision, blindness, psychological issues, or muscle issues. The disease can prove to be fatal at times, and it leads to a drastically shorter life expectancy.

Thankfully, Dr. Su Metcalfe is on her way to a massive breakthrough that could lead to a cure for MS!

Metcalfe just spoke out to say that her company LIFNano has just come up with a new development that could halt the attack on the nerve cells.

“Some people get progressive MS, so go straight to the severe form of the disease, but the majority have a relapsing or remitting version,” the doctor explained. “It can start from the age of 30, and there’s no cure, so all you can do is suppress the immune response, but the drugs that do that have side effects, and you can’t repair the brain. The cost of those drugs is very high, and in the UK there are a lot of people who don’t get treated at all.”

Metcalfe focused on the stem cell particle LIF that is a part of the immune cell, and this cell particle is able to control and confine the attack on your body.

“I was looking to see what controls the immune response and stops it auto-attacking us,” she explained. “I discovered a small binary switch, controlled by a LIF, which regulates inside the immune cell itself. LIF is able to control the cell to ensure it doesn’t attack your own body but then releases the attack when needed.”

“That LIF, in addition to regulating and protecting us against attack, also plays a major role in keeping the brain and spinal cord healthy. In fact it plays a major role in tissue repair generally, turning on stem cells that are naturally occurring in the body, making it a natural regenerative medicine, but also plays a big part in repairing the brain when it’s been damaged,” Metcalfe continued. “So I thought, this is fantastic. We can treat auto-immune disease, and we’ve got something to treat MS, which attacks both the brain and the spinal cord. So you have a double whammy that can stop and reverse the auto-immunity, and also repair the damage caused in the brain.”

Metcalfe went so far as to say that she will have a cure for MS by 2020.

“The 2020 date is ambitious, but with the funding we’ve got and the funding we’re hoping to raise, it should be possible,” she said.

The doctor added that her company is trying to cure other diseases as well.

“Psoriasis is high up on our list, and diabetes is another,” Metcalfe said. “Downstream there are all the dementias because a LIF is a major health factor for the brain. So if we can get it into the brain we can start protecting against dementia.”

This cure could save millions of lives, so we hope and pray that she does indeed have a cure by 2020!