Myelin News and Research

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Myelin is the fatty substance that covers and protects nerves.

Computer modeling and simulation may help characterize injury from blasts on a battlefield

Sandia National Laboratories is developing specialized computer modeling and simulation methods to better understand how blasts on a battlefield could lead to traumatic brain injury and injuries to vital organs, like the heart and lungs.

24 Jan 2018

Researchers use novel PET tracer to assess myelin damage in mouse models of MS

The loss or damage of myelin, a cellular sheath that surrounds and insulates nerves, is the hallmark of the immune-mediated neurological disorder multiple sclerosis.

12 Jan 2018

Researchers optimize method to increase resolution of proteomic analysis

One of the key challenges of proteomics, the study of all proteins expressed by a cell or organism, is managing to distinguish between molecules that are structurally different yet have the same mass.

4 Jan 2018

UCLA study reveals positive effects of estrogen treatment in people with MS

A study by UCLA researchers reveals the cellular basis for how the hormone estrogen protects against damage to the central nervous system in people with multiple sclerosis (MS).

28 Dec 2017

Researchers find more precise, neuroprotective approach to fix MS-damaged nerves

Gene expression in specific cells and in specific regions can provide a more precise, neuroprotective approach than traditional treatments for neurological diseases.

26 Dec 2017

Antidepressant may also alleviate multiple sclerosis symptoms

The antidepressant clomipramine may also alleviate symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), specifically in its progressive form, i.e. when it occurs without relapses or remissions.

20 Dec 2017

Cellular self-digestion process plays role in development of autoimmune diseases

Autophagy allows cells to degrade and recycle their cellular components. Researchers at UZH have now demonstrated that the autophagy machinery in certain immune cells leads to the immune system attacking the central nervous system.

13 Dec 2017

Taurine could boost effectiveness of existing multiple sclerosis therapies

New research suggests that administering taurine, a molecule naturally produced by human cells, could boost the effectiveness of current multiple sclerosis (MS) therapies.

8 Dec 2017

Mayo Clinic launches new clinical test that distinguishes IDDs from multiple sclerosis

Mayo Clinic has launched a first-in-the-U.S. clinical test that will help patients who recently have been diagnosed with an inflammatory demyelinating disease (IDD) but may be unsure of the exact disorder.

28 Nov 2017

Researchers uncover how rogue immune cells gain access to neurons in multiple sclerosis

Drug designers working on therapeutics against multiple sclerosis should focus on blocking two distinct ways rogue immune cells attack healthy neurons, according to a new study in the journal Cell Reports.

21 Nov 2017

Scientists unveil pathology underlying optic nerve hypoplasia in children

Scientists at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute (VTCRI) have revealed the pathology of cells and structures stricken by optic nerve hypoplasia, a leading cause of childhood blindness in developed nations.

16 Nov 2017

Targeting blood-clotting protein may help treat multiple sclerosis and other diseases

Picture a bare wire, without its regular plastic coating. It's exposed to the elements and risks being degraded. And, without insulation, it may not conduct electricity as well as a coated wire. Now, imagine this wire is inside your brain.

2 Nov 2017

Poor white matter health may contribute to persistent musculoskeletal pain in Gulf War veterans

A study from the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, has shown that structural damage in the white matter of the brain may be linked to chronic musculoskeletal pain in Gulf War veterans.

1 Nov 2017

Longevity Biotech receives award to evaluate novel drug candidate for MS in preclinical models

Longevity Biotech, Inc. has received an award from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society through Fast Forward, the Society's commercial research funding program, to evaluate LBT-3627 in preclinical models as a potential disease-modifying therapeutic agent.

28 Oct 2017

Myelin sheaths restore impaired nervous system over the long haul

In the central nervous system of humans and all other mammals, a vital insulating sheath composed of lipids and proteins around nerve fibers helps speed the electrical signals or nerve impulses that direct our bodies to walk, talk, breathe, swallow or perform any routine physical act.

24 Oct 2017

Researchers use powerful X-ray beams for ‘navigational map view’ of mouse brain

If brain imaging could be compared to Google Earth, neuroscientists would already have a pretty good "satellite view" of the brain, and a great "street view" of neuron details.

17 Oct 2017

Allergy medication restores nervous system function in patients with chronic MS

In a remarkably rapid translation of laboratory research findings into a treatment with the potential to benefit patients, UC San Francisco scientists have successfully completed a Phase II clinical trial showing that an FDA-approved antihistamine restores nervous system function in patients with chronic multiple sclerosis (MS).

11 Oct 2017

Moms of children with rare genetic illness push for wider newborn screening

Kerri De Nies received the news this spring from her son's pediatrician: Her chubby-cheeked toddler had a rare brain disorder.

5 Oct 2017

Gene therapy effectively stabilizes progression of cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, trial reveals

In a recent clinical trial, a gene therapy to treat cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (CALD) -- a neurodegenerative disease that typically claims young boys' lives within 10 years of diagnosis -- effectively stabilized the disease's progression in 88 percent of patients, researchers from the Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and Massachusetts General Hospital report today.

4 Oct 2017

Researchers win $2 million grant to refine and expand use of unique microscope

Researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and the University of Colorado Boulder have won a $2 million grant allowing them to refine a unique microscope they have developed while expanding its use to other scientists across the country.

3 Oct 2017