In a research published in Nature Medicine, researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center report they were able to restore damaged myelin in the brains of mice — a finding that could one day lead to better treatments for a wide variety of diseases and health conditions.

Myelin is a layer of proteins sandwiched between lipids and coats nerves, allowing signals to travel between the brain and the rest of the body. There are a number of diseases, like multiple sclerosis, in which myelin breaks down cause signals between the brain and body to degrade, impairing normal body functioning.

Myelin is produced by cells called oligodendrocytes. Researchers in this case injected purified forms of human brain cells that eventually turn into oligodendrocytes into the brains of the mice. The cells spread throughout the brains of the animals, developing into oligodendrocytes and then producing myelin.

In a prepared statement announcing the result, lead researcher Steven Goldman said,

The results are much better than expected. The percentage of cells in this experiment that began producing myelin is extraordinary, probably thousands of times as many as in previous experiments. . . . The implantation of oligodendrocyte progenitors could someday be a treatment strategy for these diseases [such as multiple sclerosis].

Previous works on restoring myelin managed to remyelinate small portions of the brains of mice, but this is the first effort that resulted in extensive remyelination in mice.

Source:

Scientists restore crucial myelin in brains of mice. Press Release, University of Rochester Medical Center, January 13, 2004.