Demyelinating diseases - new pathological insights, new therapeutic targets

Article Abstract:

Recent research reveals that multiple sclerosis is not only a demyelinating disease. These diseases are characterized by a loss of myelin, which is an insulating layer surrounding nerve cell axons that facilitates the conduction of nerve impulses. Damage to myelin causes blocks in nerve transmission. A 1998 study found that multiple sclerosis is also characterized by damage to the axons, which are long processes extending from nerve cells that transmit electrical impulses to other nerve cells. Preventing this damage could prevent the neurologic damage characteristic of multiple sclerosis.

Editorial, Demyelinating diseases

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Axonal transection in the lesions of multiple sclerosis

Article Abstract:

Multiple sclerosis may involve damage to the axons of nerves in addition to the destruction of myelin that is characteristic of the disease. Axons are long, thin projections of the nerve cell that transmit nerve impulses to other cells. They are surrounded by a substance called myelin, which insulates the axon. Researchers analyzed brain samples from 11 multiple sclerosis patients and 4 healthy individuals. The samples from the multiple sclerosis patients had clear evidence of axon damage, in much greater numbers than the samples from the healthy individuals.

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Molecular mimicry in multiple sclerosis

Article Abstract:

A study published in 2002 showed that multiple sclerosis may be caused by an autoimmune reaction to a protein complex in the central nervous system that looks like a protein complex from the Epstein-Barr virus. This concept is called molecular mimicry, which means a natural protein in the body resembles a protein in an infectious organism. Once the immune system destroys the infectious organism, it continues to attack the patient's healthy cells and tissues. This is believed to be the primary cause of many autoimmune diseases.

Mimicry (Biology)

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