Repurposing a Generic ACE Inhibitor to Treat Multiple Sclerosis

PROJECT SUMMARY The overall aim of the proposed project is to investigate the potential re-purposing of the commonly used blood pressure treatment, lisinopril, for the treatment of patients with Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) using a highlynovel approach to clinical trial execution that leverages today's IT and telemonitoring technology. Researchers in two independent US and EU laboratories found that modulators of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), including Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) inhibitors such as lisinopril) are effective in delaying or reversing the course of disease in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) rodent model of MS. Furthermore, Dr. Lawrence Steinman's team at Stanford University alsodiscovered that key RAAS elements are found and up-regulated at the site of disease in brain samples from MS patients. Due to its well-defined safety profile from use in millions of patients worldwide, lisinopril represents a low-risk opportunity to test