The outgoing Post’s managing editor on his critics, the challenges ahead for 2012, and his return to The Wall Street Journal. By Andrew Phelps Jan. 23, 2012, 2 p.m.

Myelin regeneration is indispensably important for patients suffering from several central nervous system (CNS) disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and spinal cord injury (SCI), because it is not only essential for restoring neurophysiology, but also protects denuded axons for secondary degeneration. Understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying remyelination is critical for the development of remyelination-specific therapeutic approaches. How To Install Oci8 Php Code. As remyelination shares certain common mechanisms with developmental myelination, knowledge from study of developmental myelination contributes greatly to emerging myelin regeneration therapies, best evidenced as the recently developed human anti-Nogo receptor interacting protein-1 (LINGO-1) monoclonal antibodies to treat MS patients in clinical trials. Controlador Para Instalar Impresora Epson Stylus Tx135. Introduction: myelin integrity and the health of axons Myelin is a product of nervous system evolution. In some invertebrates such as cephalopods (squid, octopus), an increase in axonal diameter called “axonal gigantism” serves as a means to speed up action potentials (Hartline and Colman, 2007). The obvious disadvantage of this strategy, however, is that it takes up space.

In vertebrates with a complex central nervous system (CNS), all but small axons are covered with myelin sheath, which enables action potentials to be propagated by “saltatory” conduction at up to 100 m sec-1 along axons. Recently, the biological significance of myelin has broadened beyond its traditional role in axonal conductivity, to include its supportive role for axonal survival and functional integrity. This renewed view not only deepens our understanding of the biological function of myelin, but, it also challenges and expands our perspective on how myelination disorders should be treated. Myelin supports axons in a plethora of ways, some of which are yet to be discovered.

First and foremost, myelin sheath provides a physical barrier separating axons from their extracellular environment; thus, it protects axons from harmful molecules which accumulate in the extracellular milieu during pathological conditions. Hence, maintaining myelin sheath integrity is a prerequisite for the health of axons. Secondly, there is convincing evidence suggesting that OLs/myelin provide trophic support for axons. For instance, although 2′, 3′-cyclic-nucleotide 3′-phosphodiesterase (CNPase) deficient mice exhibit normal myelin sheath assembly, their CNS axons degenerate early in development (Lappe-Siefke et al. Driver Synaptics Ps 2 Port Touchpad Toshiba. , 2003). A similar finding was also observed in myelin proteolipid protein-1 (PLP-1) deficient mice; although, their axonal degeneration was not detected until 3 months of age (Griffiths et al., 1998).