Demyelinating processes, or diseases, are conditions characterized by damage to the myelin sheath, the protective sheath that covers nerves within the central nervous system, according to MayoClinic.com. As the myelin sheath becomes damaged,...
Vitamin E helps to rid your body of the by-products of metabolism. Low vitamin E levels usually occur when your body is not absorbing vitamin E from the foods you eat. Having low vitamin E can put you at risk for nerve damage such as...
The myelin sheath is a layer of insulation made up of fatty substances and protein that surrounds nerve cell fibers. The myelin sheath allows the nerve cells to transit impulses through the body quickly and efficiently. Demyelinating diseases are...
Myelin is the outer covering of the nerve fibers. Demyelinating diseases involve damage to this outer covering. With the myelin damaged, the nerve impulses can no longer communicate effectively, and symptoms such as muscle spasms, problems walking...
Demyelinating disorders are degenerative in nature and originate in the brain. The demyelinating process is the eventual wearing-away of the myelin sheath, a vital protective covering for nerves. Within this process, the body begins disconnecting...
Demyelinating diseases are medical conditions that damage the myelin sheath that protects the brain, spinal cord and other parts of the central and peripheral nervous systems. These diseases can cause progressive neurological difficulties, which...
Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy--or CIDP for short--is a disease that affects the nerves in your arms and legs. This condition occurs most commonly in young men, though people of any age can be affected. CIDP is...
There are a lot of names for paraproteinaemic demyelinating neuropathy, as though that name isn't enough of a mouthful. Other names for the condition include CIDP or MGUS. The words all differ slightly but mean the same thing: damage to the...
The myelin sheath is a fatty layer that protects nerve cells, extending to cover the nerve throughout its length, except in small, unmyelinated gaps known as the nodes of Ranvier. Myelin aids in accelerating the speed at which an impulse travels...
Muscular sclerosis is the former term for multiple sclerosis, or MS. Multiple sclerosis is characterized by demyelination of the axon, the region of a neuron that transmits nerve impulse. As a nerve impulse travels down the axon, myelin...
Both amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, and multiple sclerosis are neurological diseases that impair the full functionality of the central nervous system by attacking nerve and muscle function. They share some...
An autoimmune disorder, such as multiple sclerosis, arises when the body’s immune system loses the ability to distinguish self from non-self. An autoimmune disorder results in an immune response against the body’s own tissue. Both...
Neuropathy is a functional disturbance or pathological change in the peripheral nervous system. Disorders that disrupt the normal functioning of the axons of the nervous system are called axonal neuropathies, and conditions that affect the myelin...
Enbrel is a protein-based drug used to limit damage caused by certain autoimmune disorders. Enbrel prevents the body from making tumor necrosis factor (TNF), a protein involved in immune and inflammatory responses. Individuals with autoimmune...
The University of Maryland Medical Center, or UMMC, points out that multiple sclerosis, or MS, affects 2.5 million people in the world. Patients with MS suffer a destruction of the myelin sheaths that coat their neurons. Without a fully functional...
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) can progress from a mild difficulty with walking and sight to a debilitating or even fatal disease. Demyelination of nerves and lesions on the brain cause a "short circuiting" of electrical impulses to various parts of the...
Radiation is a type of high-energy x-ray that can be used to destroy cancerous cell growth in the body. Unfortunately, radiation can also damage and kill healthy cells in the brain and body. Brain matter exposure to radiation can significantly...
The nervous system is responsible for communication with your brain. It transmits signals to your brain to communicate information about internal and external stimuli, and receives messages from your brain to act on these stimuli. The nervous...
Essential fatty acids, also known as Vitamin F, are made up of linoleic acid and alpha-linoleic acid. These two types of essential fatty acids are omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids. Both are polyunsaturated fatty acids and because the body cannot...
The white matter of the brain contains nerve fibers (axons), interstitial space and supporting cells. Most of these nerve fibers--specifically, axons--are covered with myelin, a type of fat that insulates nerve fibers and increases the speed of...
Your nervous system contains a fatty substance, known as myelin, which provides insulation for your brain and spinal cord, and the nerves that course through your body. Fat comprises 60 percent of your gray matter, the nerve cells and processes,...
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease that is characterized by recurring attacks on the central nervous system, brain, spinal cord, and eyes. Processes that cause the symptoms of MS include demyelination, the process in which the outermost...
Autoimmune disorders are conditions that occur when the immune system--the body's defense system--attacks the body's own tissues as if they were foreign. That leads to destruction of healthy tissue, changes in organ function or abnormal growth of...
A magnetic resonance imaging scan, or MRI, allows doctors to examine the brain without opening the skull. The National Institutes of Health explains that an MRI produces a magnetic field that is 10,000 times greater than the one produced by the...
Muscle wasting, or muscle atrophy, is the loss of muscle tissue. Muscle wasting is described in two categories. One type of muscle wasting is caused by physical inactivity--simply not using the muscles enough. The other, more serious type of...
The founder of diet research into the cause and treatment of MS, DIRECT-MS, Mr. Ashton Embry recommends that those diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, or MS, eliminate gluten grains from their diet. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, or NMSS,...
Anemia is a condition in which the body does not have enough red blood cells to deliver oxygen to body tissues. This understandably can result in many problems with the body due to the necessity for proper oxygen supply to body cells and tissues....
Some of nerves have a protective covering around them called myelin. Myelin is important as it increases the speed of the signals that your nerves send. Therefore, diseases that destroy the myelin sheath or interferes with its metabolism will...
Peripheral neuropathy affects limbs and extremities, such as, hands and feet. Distal neuropatjy affect extremities, such as, toes, fingers, hand and feet. Acquired neuropathies can be caused by drugs, poisons, injuries and trauma. Inherited...
