The study results showed that there was a decrease in nerve degeneration in mice with MS-type symptoms when they were given a form of vitamin B3 called nicotinamide.
MS is a central nervous system disease that affects the myelin sheath leading to the upset of conducting electrical impulses to and from the brain.
The Boston research team found that daily nicotinamide shots shielded the animals' nerve cells from myelin loss, and controlled the condition of affected cells.
The higher the dose of nicotinamide correlated to better protective effects.
Lead researcher Dr Shinjiro Kaneko said: "The earlier therapy was started, the better the effect, but we hope nicotinamide can help patients who are already in the chronic stage."
The researchers cautioned that more research was necessary to test its effectivity on humans.
