myelin tagged posts

The discovery could have important implications for the health of aging brains and development of therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. Recent studies suggest that new brain cells are being formed every day in response to injury, physical exercise, and mental stimulation...

This image shows restored presence of proteins indicating myelin reformation (shown in red) in the lumbar spinal cord of a mouse treated with miR-219 mimic after injury to its central nervous system. Researchers report March 27 in Developmental Cell treatment with the micro-RNA partially repaired damaged nerves and restored limb function in mice. Credit: Cincinnati Children’s

Scientists partially re-insulated ravaged nerves in mouse models of multiple sclerosis (MS) and restored limb mobility by treating the animals with a small non-coding RNA called a microRNA...

In this lab stain, the small orange-spotted cell on the far left shows a nerve cell infected with herpes virus in an animal model. Credit: Image courtesy of Seattle Children’s Hospital

Reseachers estimate 90% of the population have them. These strains, human herpes 6 and human herpes 7, usually do not cause severe symptoms when people acquire them. But researchers know that under certain circumstances, dormant herpes viruses in the body can unexpectedly come roaring back and cause complications not typically associated with herpes virus.”It’s common to find herpes virus in salivary glands of humans and animals,” Barcy said. “But we found herpes 7 in the nervous system of animal models, which was a surprise because that strain of herpes has not been detected in the nervous system before...