WEDNESDAY, Aug. 31, 2005 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists have identified the molecular switch that turns on the production of myelin, the fatty insulation around nerve cells that ensures swift and efficient communication throughout the nervous system.
The research could provide a new avenue for treating multiple sclerosis and other nervous system diseases associated with damage to myelin, scientists at the New York University School of Medicine said.
Using a sophisticated system for growing nerve cells in laboratory dishes, the team identified a gene called neuregulin as the myelin signal, lead researcher Dr. James L. Salzer, a professor of cell biology and neurology at NYU School of Medicine, said in a prepared statement.
This signal directs Schwann cells, the nervous system's cellular architects, to build elaborate sheaths of myelin around the axons of nerve cells.
Researchers are investigating whether neuregulin could affect the myelin found in the body's central nervous system. If so, it may one day be possible to enhance or fix damaged spinal cords and tracts of brain that have lost their myelin due to injury or disease.
A report on the discovery appears in the Sept. 1 issue of Neuron.
More information
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more about multiple sclerosis.
