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New MRI technique can image presence/absence of myelin
Submitted by hollie on Thu, 2008-10-16 07:30.
An MRI technique called T(2) relaxation can identify areas where myelin has been lost and where it has been restored. Current MRI techniques can identify lesions but are not very specific about the types of damage and repair that are occurring. Being able to image remyelination would be very useful in clinical studies of agents or procedures designed to help with this process.
When I was first diagnosed
When I was first diagnosed in 1992, I understood that remyelination didn't occur. Once the myelin was stripped away, the damage was permanent. Over the years I've seen more articles that refer to remyelination, which I'm thinking is a "repair" process and demyelination is therefore not necessarily permanent. Perhaps the only permanent damage is when the underlying nerve cells eventually die because they've lost their protective sheath?