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Myelin is the fatty substance that covers and protects nerves.
Johns Hopkins scientists identify role of central nervous system cell in development of ALS

Johns Hopkins scientists identify role of central nervous system cell in development of ALS

Johns Hopkins scientists say they have evidence from animal studies that a type of central nervous system cell other than motor neurons plays a fundamental role in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a fatal degenerative disease. [More]
Research findings could lead to improved treatment for neuropathic pain

Research findings could lead to improved treatment for neuropathic pain

An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, says a key protein in Schwann cells performs a critical, perhaps overarching, role in regulating the recovery of peripheral nerves after injury. [More]
Study provides important insight into how BMT treatment works in patients with MS

Study provides important insight into how BMT treatment works in patients with MS

A new study by Multiple Sclerosis researchers at three leading Canadian centres addresses why bone marrow transplantation has positive results in patients with particularly aggressive forms of MS. [More]
Atrophy of thalamus is important predictor of clinically definite MS, study shows

Atrophy of thalamus is important predictor of clinically definite MS, study shows

A growing body of research by multiple sclerosis investigators at the University at Buffalo and international partners is providing powerful new evidence that the brain's gray matter reflects important changes in the disease that could allow clinicians to diagnose earlier and to better monitor and predict how the disease will progress. [More]
Phase 1b study of olesoxime initiated in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients

Phase 1b study of olesoxime initiated in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients

... [More]

NIH-sponsored comparative trial evaluates benefits of combination therapy and monotherapy in MS

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who were treated with combination therapy did not see significant clinical benefit over those treated with single drug therapy, but combination therapy did reduce the development of new lesions, according to an international research team led by The Mount Sinai Medical Center. [More]

Combination of INF and glatiramer acetate does not reduce MS progression

A recent clinical trial found that interferonβ-1a (INF) and glatiramer acetate (GA), two of the most commonly prescribed drugs for multiple sclerosis (MS), provide no additional clinical benefit when taken together. [More]
Study reveals increased dietary salt intake may lead to autoimmune disorders

Study reveals increased dietary salt intake may lead to autoimmune disorders

Increased dietary salt intake can induce a group of aggressive immune cells that are involved in triggering and sustaining autoimmune diseases. [More]
Researchers identify several genes associated with human neurological disorders

Researchers identify several genes associated with human neurological disorders

Scientists at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) have identified several genes linked to human neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and spinal cord injury, in the sea lamprey, a vertebrate fish whose whole-genome sequence is reported this week in the journal Nature Genetics. [More]
Stress and mental illness: an interview with Professor Akira Sawa

Stress and mental illness: an interview with Professor Akira Sawa

As a psychiatrist I am interested in how stress may play a role in the pathology of adult mental disorders. You may know that most of the major mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, mood-disorder, substance abuse or even anxiety disorder, become prominent in early adulthood. [More]
Reprogrammed human skin cells highly effective in treating myelin disorders

Reprogrammed human skin cells highly effective in treating myelin disorders

A study out today in the journal Cell Stem Cell shows that human brain cells created by reprogramming skin cells are highly effective in treating myelin disorders, a family of diseases that includes multiple sclerosis and rare childhood disorders called pediatric leukodystrophies. [More]
Location of altered brain metabolite levels found in bipolar I patients

Location of altered brain metabolite levels found in bipolar I patients

Bipolar I disorder patients have increased phospholipid levels in the thalami and increased N-acetyl-aspartate levels in the left hippocampus compared with healthy individuals, a team of investigators has discovered. [More]

Potential connection between autism and insulin-like growth factor

A New York-based physician-researcher from Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, best known for his research into fertility and twinning, has uncovered a potential connection between autism and a specific growth protein that could eventually be used as a way to predict an infant's propensity to later develop the disease. [More]

Klotho protein plays important role in the health of myelin

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) led by Carmela Abraham, PhD, professor of biochemistry, along with Cidi Chen, PhD, and other collaborators, report that the protein Klotho plays an important role in the health of myelin, the insulating material allowing for the rapid communication between nerve cells. [More]

Androgens could constitute an efficient treatment against multiple sclerosis

Testosterone and its derivatives could constitute an efficient treatment against myelin diseases such as multiple sclerosis, reveals a study by researchers from the Laboratoire d'Imagerie et de Neurosciences Cognitives, in collaboration in particular with the "Neuroprotection et Neurorégénération: Molécules Neuroactives de Petite Taille" unit. [More]

Quantitative MRIs evade multiple sclerosis clinicoradiologic paradox

Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging can detect microstructural changes in the spinal cords of patients with multiple sclerosis that correlate with observed differences in clinical disability, according to a cross-sectional study in Neurology. [More]

LM11A-31 effective at improving limb movement after spinal cord injury in mice

An experimental oral drug given to mice after a spinal cord injury was effective at improving limb movement after the injury, a new study shows. [More]

Extensive white matter abnormalities in early schizophrenia

Patients with first-episode schizophrenia exhibit widespread white matter abnormalities, results from a brain imaging study show. [More]
Novel virus-based gene therapy holds promise for Canavan disease

Novel virus-based gene therapy holds promise for Canavan disease

Research led by Paola Leone, PhD, of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Osteopathic Medicine (UMDNJ-SOM), demonstrates the long term safety and benefit of a virus-based gene therapy that has been applied for the first time in a clinical setting. [More]

AAV-based gene therapy cocktail may help extend lives of children with Canavan disease

Results of a clinical trial that began in 2001 show that a gene therapy cocktail conveyed into the brain by a molecular special delivery vehicle may help extend the lives of children with Canavan disease, a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorder. [More]