myelin

Claudin 11 stops the leaks in neuronal myelin sheaths

harminka — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:00:27 -0600

Devaux and Gow demonstrate how a tight junction protein called claudin 11 makes the neuronal myelin sheath a snug fit. The study will be published in the December 1, 2008 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology (www.jcb.org).

New imaging technique promotes early detection of multiple sclerosis

harminka — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 06:54:19 -0500

Researchers from Purdue University have studied and recorded how myelin degrades real-time in live mice using a new imaging technique. Myelin is the fatty sheath coating the axons, or nerve cells, that insulate and aid in efficient nerve fiber conduction. In diseases such as multiple sclerosis, the myelin sheath has been found to degrade.

Implicating Myelin in Early Evolution of Huntington's Disease

harminka — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 09:41:40 -0500

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. Myelin is the "insulation" that wraps around nerve axons in the brain.

Brain's white matter - More 'talkative' than once thought

harminka — Mon, 07 May 2007 09:03:26 -0500

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.