Study suggests brain activity regulates myelination
Dr David Lyons and his team have published a study in Nature Neuroscience which suggests that Multiple Sclerosis patients may, one day, benefit from treatments that boost their brain function.
April: Dr David Lyons and his team (Centre for Neuroregeneration) have shown that neuronal activity regulates myelin sheath production in the central nervous system (CNS). Using zebrafish as a model organism to visualise and manipulate myelination in vivo, the group have shown that disruption to synaptic vesicle release causes oligodendrocytes (the myelin producing glia of the CNS) to generate about 40% fewer myelin sheaths than normal. Intriguingly and encouragingly increasing neuronal activity promotes oligodendrocytes to generate about 40% more sheaths than normal. Future studies will reveal the underlying mechanisms and determine whether neuronal activity could be regulated for the promotion of myelin repair and treatment of diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Their findings were published in Nature neuroscience.
original article (06apr15)
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