Myelin News and Research

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Myelin is the fatty substance that covers and protects nerves.

New automated method maps complex myelin patterns in the brain

Myelin, the insulating sheath around nerve fibers, is essential for fast, healthy signalling in the brain, and its patterns enormously vary across brain tissue regions.

28 Sep 2026

Specialized immune cells bridge the nervous and immune systems

A collaborative team led by Professor Jie Zhou at Tianjin Medical University School of Basic Medicine and Professor Qiang Liu at Tianjin Medical University General Hospital published a comprehensive review in Volume 2 of the journal Immunity & Inflammation on September 8, 2026.

25 Sep 2026

Mount Sinai researchers discover how Alzheimer's gene damages blood vessels

Mount Sinai researchers have identified how APOE4, the strongest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, damages the brain's blood vessels and promotes the buildup of abnormal proteins linked to neurodegenerative disease.

24 Sep 2026

Experimental drug reverses multiple sclerosis damage in mouse model

A drug developed by a UVA Health scientist has not only stopped but reversed paralysis and vision loss in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis.

23 Sep 2026

New 3D lipid atlas maps the chemistry of mouse brains

The brain is often described in terms of cells and wiring. However, much of it is made of lipids that form the membranes of neurons, wrap nerve fibers with myelin, and help brain cells send and receive signals.

23 Sep 2026

New MRI measure maps blood flow and cellular organization

Researchers from the Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have developed a new, noninvasive way to examine how blood flow and cellular organization align across the layers of the living human brain.

17 Sep 2026

Multiple sclerosis treatment approach developed at Mainz University moves toward clinical application

A therapeutic approach pioneered in Mainz for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) is taking an important step toward clinical application.

1 Sep 2026

Study reveals why diffuse midline glioma develops in brain midline regions

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have shown that specific brain cells respond differently to the H3.3 K27M, a mutation in the histone H3.3 protein that drives many cases of diffuse midline glioma (DMG), depending on the cell's location in the developing brain.

27 Aug 2026

Faulty myelin-making brain cells may help drive cognitive decline with age

Researchers found that greater age-related cognitive decline was associated with more dysfunctional oligodendrocytes, reduced NRF2 expression, smaller myelinated axons, and abnormally thicker myelin in human white matter. Experiments in mice showed that deleting NRF2 specifically from oligodendrocytes reproduced key white matter abnormalities and reduced cognitive improvement over time, implicating this pathway in cognitive aging.

26 Aug 2026

Dysfunctional myelin-producing brain cells contribute to age-related cognitive decline

Brain cells that produce the protective coating around nerve fibers can become dysfunctional with age and may actively contribute to cognitive decline, according to new research.

25 Aug 2026

Disrupted brain-immune signaling may help drive neurodegeneration

A Cell perspective argues that neurodegeneration can emerge from disrupted communication between neural and immune networks, with peripheral immunity, microglia, and gene-regulatory programs all shaping disease processes. The authors propose that restoring immune homeostasis and recalibrating neuroimmune circuits could create new therapeutic and diagnostic opportunities, while emphasizing that many mechanisms remain unresolved in humans.

24 Aug 2026

Two distinct types of brain tissue work together to support cognition in older adults

Researchers from the Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have found that two distinct types of brain tissue work together to support cognition in older adults, and that the health of the brain's short-range wiring may help soften the cognitive effects of gray matter loss.

20 Aug 2026

Colorectal tumors may damage nerves before chemotherapy

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found that, in preclinical models of colorectal cancer, tumors can start damaging peripheral nerves before chemotherapy begins.

19 Aug 2026

Deep-learning tissue clocks reveal how organs age and leave disease-linked signals in blood

Deep learning applied to more than 25,000 histopathology slides revealed tissue-specific structural signatures of biological aging that tracked telomere attrition, pathology, comorbidity, and molecular changes more closely than chronological age alone.

18 Aug 2026

Senescent brain immune cells secrete protein linked to cognitive decline

Brain-resident immune cells that have reached an old-age state called "senescence" secrete a protein that causes dysfunction in other brain cells, according to a study led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine.

11 Aug 2026

Disrupted RNA methylation pathway accelerates Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s risks

A growing understanding of RNA biology is reshaping how scientists view the relationship between environmental toxicants, brain development, and neurodegenerative disease.

7 Aug 2026

IL-6 receptor blockers show promise for preventing MOGAD relapses

An international study led by Mayo Clinic researchers has identified interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor blockers as a promising option for preventing relapses in myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD). MOGAD is a rare autoimmune neurological disorder that can cause vision loss, paralysis and other serious neurological complications.

6 Aug 2026