Myelin News and Research

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Myelin is the fatty substance that covers and protects nerves.

Myelin and Huntington's disease

Last month, Dr. George Bartzokis, director of the UCLA Memory Disorders and Alzheimer's Disease Clinic, suggested in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia that the breakdown of a type of myelin that develops late in life promotes the buildup of toxic amyloid plaques long associated with Alzheimer's disease.

14 Jun 2007

Scientist's discovery of role of Aquaporin in spinal injuries recognized with research funding award

Dr. Olivera Nesic-Taylor, an assistant professor in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Texas, Galveston, was presented with the Erica Nader Award for 'breakthrough research in spinal cord regeneration.'

3 Jun 2007

Human stem cell treatment restores motor function in paralyzed rats

Rats paralyzed due to loss of blood flow to the spine returned to near normal ambulatory function six weeks after receiving grafts of human spinal stem cells (hSSCs), researchers from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine report.

1 Jun 2007

Glucosamine-like dietary supplement suppresses autoimmune response in multiple sclerosis and type-1 diabetes mellitus

This finding shows the potential of using a dietary supplement to help treat autoimmune diseases, said Demetriou, an assistant professor of neurology, and microbiology and molecular genetics.

15 May 2007

Breakdown of myelin implicated in Alzheimer's

Wisdom comes with age (doesn't it"), but not without a process that takes place in the brain called myelination.

15 May 2007

Brain cells 'talk' with each other in more ways than previously thought

Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered to their surprise that nerves in the mammalian brain's white matter do more than just ferry information between different brain regions, but in fact process information the way gray matter cells do.

8 May 2007

Burnham awarded $7.39 million for study on Neuron-Glia communication in development

A team of researchers at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (“Burnham”) has been awarded $7.39 million from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health.

24 Apr 2007

New understanding of schizophrenia

New research helps bridge an important gap in understanding schizophrenia, providing the best evidence to date that defects in the brain's white matter are a key contributor to the disease, which affects about 1 percent of people worldwide.

24 Apr 2007

Potential therapeutic target for multiple sclerosis

Oregon Health & Science University neuroscientists are eyeing a protein as a potential therapeutic target for multiple sclerosis because de-activating it protects nerve fibers from damage.

24 Apr 2007

New combined imaging promises insights into multiple sclerosis

Researchers have developed a way to use three types of microscopic imaging techniques simultaneously to analyze living tissue and learn more about the molecular mechanisms of multiple sclerosis, information that could help lead to earlier detection and new treatments.

18 Apr 2007

Single master gene crucial for nerve cell insulation

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have discovered how a defect in a single master gene disrupts the process by which several genes interact to create myelin, a fatty coating that covers nerve cells and increases the speed and reliability of their electrical signals.

17 Apr 2007

Protecting brains of premature infants - new approach needed

A study of how the brain of a premature infant responds to injury has found vulnerabilities similar to those in the mature brain but also identified at least one significant difference, according to neuroscientists and neonatologists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

11 Apr 2007

Modified bone marrow cells help recovery in an animal model of multiple sclerosis

These findings will need to be repeated in further animal models before the implications for human disease are clear; however, they open up an avenue of further research.

10 Apr 2007

Atorvastatin shows potential as a new treatment for spinal cord injuries

A multidisciplinary investigation led by Inderjit Singh, Ph.D, of the Medical University of South Carolina, has resulted in a new treatment of spinal cord injuries (SCI). The study investigates the efficacy of atorvastatin (AT), (i.e. Lipitor) as a treatment for spinal cord injuries following trauma.

22 Mar 2007

Pregnancy hormone prolactin gives hope to MS victims

Canadian scientists believe they may be some way to solving the mystery of why women suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS) go into remission while they are pregnant.

21 Feb 2007

Hormone prolactin key to repairing nerve cell damage

The mystery of why multiple sclerosis (MS) tends to go into remission while women are pregnant may be the secret to overcoming the devastating neurodegenerative disease, according to University of Calgary researchers who have shown that a pregnancy-related hormone is responsible for rebuilding the protective coating around nerve cells.

20 Feb 2007

Ceramide plays big role in embryonic development

A little-known lipid plays a big role in helping us grow from a hollow sphere of stem cells into human beings, researchers have found.

5 Feb 2007

Human embryonic stem cells show potential in treating rats with Parkinson's symptoms

Brain cells derived from human embryonic stem cells improved the condition of rats with Parkinson's-like symptoms dramatically, but the treatment caused a significant problem - the appearance of brain tumors - that scientists are now working to solve.

2 Dec 2006

Environment the culprit in women's higher risk of MS

Researchers in the UK are suggesting that there is an environmental link to the rising number of women being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Canada.

1 Nov 2006

Researchers identifiy how immune system contributes to nerve fiber damage caused by multiple sclerosis

Researchers have identified how the body's own immune system contributes to the nerve fiber damage caused by multiple sclerosis, a finding that can potentially aid earlier diagnosis and improved treatment for this chronic disease.

16 Oct 2006