United States: An experimental drug named CNM-Au8, which is a drinkable liquid with gold nanocrystals, is showing positive outcomes by improving MS symptoms during its clinical trials.
More about the study by researchers
According to the researchers, the “catalytically active” liquid, which was formed by Clene Nanomedicine in South Carolina, has the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. This helps improve cellular energy and restore neurological functions.
Phase 2 of the clinical trial was conducted by the doctors at the University of Sydney, where the findings were presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting on April 2024.
Seventy-eight patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis disorders were included in the clinical trials.
According to the researchers, the finding of the gold liquid suspension has a “profound clinical benefit,” which patients going through physical improvements had not yet achieved in previous trials.

Need for the new MS drug
Multiple sclerosis (MS) represents a sort of disease that is an auto-immune ailment related to the central nervous system and the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerve.
Immunologists claim that lymphocytes act as white blood cells and target the central nervous system for those suffering from MS; hence, they trigger inflammation in the area.
According to Dr. Robert C. Sergott, chief of the neuro-ophthalmology service at Wills Eye Hospital and professor of ophthalmology, neurology, and neurosurgery at Sidney Kimmel Medical College in Philadelphia, such a condition often makes patients feel off balance or even lose their vision.
More about MS and its cure
The currently available medications for MS work by focusing on inflammation; however, there is a subgroup of patients who continue to feel symptoms without any clear inflammation signal, said Sergott. According to experts, such a condition is referred to as progression independent of relapse activity (PIRA).
Sergott, who was not part of the clinical trial for CNM-Au8, said, “This is a non-inflammatory component of the disease, where patients would worsen in vision and cognitive abilities,” as Fox News reported.
Therefore, researchers were of the view that something related to a part of cells, called the mitochondria, has something to do with the appearance of MS symptoms, as this part is responsible for supplying those cells with energy.
Sergott added, “The theory was that if we could give the mitochondria an extra boost, the neurons, axons, and other cells in the central nervous system may work better,” as Fox News reported.
According to Sergott, “In other words, maybe these cells aren’t dead, but they’re hibernating.”
More about the gold nanoparticles
Moreover, gold nanoparticles were used years ago to treat rheumatoid arthritis.
Sergott said, “Clene shaved the gold particles and [got] them to a very highly purified nanoparticle state — into very small particles, so they can get through the blood-brain barrier to the cells that need it to work better.”