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Published in Nature Medicine

neuronal damage

MS could

heal spontaneously

MADRID, 28 (EUROPA PRESS )

Damage to the axons, a major component of brain nerve cells could spontaneously regress in amyotrophic multiple, according to a study of the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich in Germany, published in the online edition of the journal Nature Medicine.

In multiple sclerosis, an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system, damage to axons mediated by the immune system leads to permanent neurological defects. It is unknown how the damage is initiated in axons. A classical view of multiple sclerosis is that the loss of myelin-coverings that insulate the axons to accelerate the transmission of nerve signals, is a prerequisite for axon damage.

The scientists, led by Martin Kerschensteiner, used imaging techniques in living mice to identify a new form of damage to axons in an experimental model of multiple sclerosis. This process, called 'focal axonal degeneration' consists of sequential stages: localized damage in the mitochondria within axons, inflammation of the nerve fiber and the further fragmentation of the axons.

Notably, most swollen axons in their experiments remained unchanged for several days and some were recovering spontaneously.

The researchers also found changes consistent with focal axonal degeneration in lesions of multiple sclerosis patients, highlighting the possible relevance of this form of axonal damage to human disease.