The myelin sheath plays an important role in your nervous system. It covers your nerves, helping to transmit signals from neuron to neuron. When the myelin sheath becomes damaged, you can have problems with several different functions. For...
The myelin sheath is a component of the nervous system required for proper nerve function. A layer of proteins and fats, the sheath surrounds nerve cells throughout your body and functions like an insulator, allowing for fast nerve transmission....
The myelin sheath, which covers the axon of the neuron, performs important functions for neural communication. In the central nervous system, or the brain and spinal cord, oligodendrocytes make up the myelin sheath, while Schwann cells make up the...
Nerve cells throughout the brain and body are covered in a white, waxy coating known as the myelin sheath. Its function is to allow conduction of nerve impulses between cells, working in much the same way as the insulating coating on a wire does....
The myelin sheath is a layer that covers and protects nerves in the brain and spinal cord. Myelin is made from a fatty, permeable substance and its primary function is to transmit impulses along the nerve cells that control various bodily...
Many of your nerves are covered with a fatty myelin sheath to speed up the transmission of nerve impulses to and from your brain. Certain nutrients are essential for proper myelin sheath formation, and a healthy diet might also support your...
Brains are mostly made up of fat. The protective sheath of neurons is 70 percent fat. Neuron membranes are also made up of "a thick double-layer of fatty acid molecules," according to the Franklin Institute Online. Neurons are cells dedicated to...
Your nervous system is a finely tuned machine, able to process feedback and send out signals in milliseconds. Whether you have to think about it or not, your brain is constantly sending signals to the rest of your body to regulate your heart rate,...
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...
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,...
The brain and spinal cord form the human body's central nervous system. The spinal cord is the primary pathway by which the body conducts sensory information from the peripheral nervous system to the brain. The brain processes sensory input and...
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...
The nervous system oversees many functions in the body, including involuntary reactions to emergencies and the digestion of food. Most importantly, the nervous system handles the stress response, which, if overworked, can eventually lead to...
Lipids are fats. In the body they take the form of phospholipids, cholesterol and fatty acids. Although fats are usually associated with obesity and disease, your body needs a certain amount of fat to function -- also known as essential body fat....
Multiple sclerosis, states the National Center for Biotechnology Information, is a condition in which your immune system attacks your brain and spinal cord -- two important components of your central nervous system. Multiple sclerosis arises when...
Multiple sclerosis, commonly referred to as MS, is a disease that affects your nerves. Specifically, the myelin sheaths that cover and protect your nerves deteriorate, which affects the communication between your body and brain, according to the...
Multiple sclerosis or MS is a degenerative disease that degrades the myelin sheaths surrounding nerves in the brain, optic nerve and spinal cord. At the time of publication, there was no cure for MS. Treatment focuses on improving quality of life,...
Demyelinating disease causes the myelin sheaths that cover nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord to deteriorate. When myelin sheaths deteriorate, the nerves can't properly transmit impulses. Demyelination of the nerves can occur in the nerves...
Lecithin is fatty material found in plant and animal tissues, especially soybeans and egg yolks. The main component of lecithin is phosphatidylcholine, which is present in various human tissues, especially your blood, bile, brain and nerves....
The USDA's Food and Nutrition Service works to provide proper nutrition to low-income people. Also known as FNS, the Food and Nutrition Service also conducts research and publishes information on healthy nutrition and how to maintain a balanced...
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...
Of all the vitamins necessary for your health, B-12 has the most complex molecular structure, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. It is sometimes referred to as cobalamin, because of the presence of a cobalt ion within its structure. The...
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....
The foods that you choose to eat have a direct impact on your brain. Some people avoid red meat because they have heard that it is bad for your health. While red meat is an animal-based food that contains fat, it is also important for providing...
Vitamin B-12, a co-factor used by enzymes involved in fatty acid metabolism, helps form myelin sheaths, which surround nerves. Deficiency of B-12 causes these enzymes to not function properly. Consequently, unusual fatty acids with branched chains...
According to "Discovering Nutrition," vitamin B1 is the B vitamin commonly referred to as thiamine. Vitamin B1 is a water soluble vitamin, according to "Foundations and Clinical Applications of Nutrition," which means that excess amounts of the...
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...
About 2 million years ago, a human brain was half the size of today's human brain. Your brain controls everything about you: breathing, thought, movement and interaction with others. Animals have brains that look similar to the human brain in most...
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a condition that results from damage to the nerves and the protective covers (myelin sheaths) of the nerves. MS affects the central nervous system (CNS) because it interferes with the communication the nerves have...
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating disease where the myelin sheaths, the coverings for the nerves around the central nervous system, become infected. In this video, learn more about MS, its effects on people, and how it may be treated.
