Demyelination: What Is It and Why Does

It Happen?

Causes

Symptoms

Types

MS and Demyelination

Treatment and Diagnosis

Vaccines

Takeaway

1
What is demyelination?
Nerves send and receive messages from every part of your body and process them in your
brain. Nerves allow you to speak, see, feel, and think.

Many nerves are coated in myelin. Myelin is an insulating material. When its worn away or
damaged, nerves can deteriorate, causing problems in the brain and throughout the body.
Damage to myelin around nerves is called demyelination.

Nerves

Nerves are made up of neurons. Neurons are composed of a cell body, dendrites, and an axon.
The axon sends messages from one neuron to the next. The axon also connects neurons to
other cells, such as muscle cells.

Some axons are extremely short. Others are 3 feet long. Some axons are covered in myelin.
Myelin protects the axons and helps carry axon messages as quickly as possible.

Myelin

Myelin is made of membrane layers that cover an axon. This is similar to the idea of an
electrical wire with coating to protect the metal underneath.

Myelin allows a nerve signal to travel faster. In unmyelinated neurons, a signal can travel
along the nerves at about 1 meter per second. In a myelinated neuron, the signal can travel
100 meters per second.

Certain diseases can damage myelin. Demyelination slows down messages sent along axons
and causes the axon to deteriorate. Depending upon the location of the damage, axon loss can
cause problems with feeling, moving, seeing, hearing, and thinking clearly.

CAUSES

Causes of demyelination
Inflammation is the most common cause of myelin damage. Other causes include:

certain viral infections

metabolic problems

loss of oxygen

physical compression

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SYMPTOMS

Symptoms of demyelination
Demyelination prevents nerves from being able to conduct messages to and from the brain.
The effects of demyelination can occur rapidly. In Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), myelin
may only be under attack for a few hours before symptoms appear.

Symptoms can come and go in chronic illnesses like multiple sclerosis (MS) and progress
over years. Nerves are a key part of your body functions. Thus, a wide range of symptoms can
occur when nerves are affected by demyelination, including:

numbness

loss of reflexes and uncoordinated movements

poorly controlled blood pressure

blurred vision

dizziness

racing heart beat or palpitations

memory problems

pain

loss of bladder and bowel control

fatigue

Early symptoms of demyelination

Not everyone is affected by demyelinating diseases in the same way. However, some
demyelinating symptoms are very common. Early symptoms include:

loss of vision

bladder or bowel problems

unusual nerve pain

overall fatigue

These are among the first signs of a demyelinating disease.

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TYPES

Types of demyelination
There are different types of demyelination. These include inflammatory demyelination and
viral demyelination.

Inflammatory demyelination

Inflammatory demyelination happens when the bodys immune system attacks myelin. Types
of demyelination like MS, optic neuritis, and acute-disseminated encephalomyelitis are
caused by inflammation in the brain and spinal cord. GBS involves inflammatory
demyelination of peripheral nerves in other parts of the body.

Viral demyelination

Viral demyelination occurs with progressive multifocal leucoencephalopathy (PML). PML is

caused by the JC virus. Myelin damage can also occur with alcoholism, liver damage, and
electrolyte imbalances. Hypoxic-ischemic demyelination occurs due to a lack of oxygen or
vascular disease in the brain.

MS AND DEMYELINATION

Demyelination and multiple sclerosis

MS is the most common demyelinating disease. According to the National MS Society, it
affects 2.3 million people worldwide. In MS, demyelination occurs in the white matter of the
brain and in the spinal cord. Lesions or plaques then form where myelin is under attack by
the immune system. Many of these plaques (or scar tissue) occur throughout the brain over
the course of years.

The types of MS are:

Clinically Isolated Syndrome

relapsing-remitting MS

primary-progressive MS

secondary-progressive MS

TREATMENT AND DIAGNOSIS

Treatment and diagnosis

4
There is no cure for demyelinating diseases. New myelin growth can occur in areas of
damage. But new myelin is thinner and not as effective. Researcher are looking into ways to
increase the bodys ability to grow new myelin.

Most treatments of demyelinating disease reduce the immune response. This is done with
drugs like interferon beta-1a or glatiramer acetate. Also, people with low levels of vitamin D
more easily develop MS or other demyelinating diseases. High levels of vitamin D may
reduce inflammatory immune response.

Demyelination MRI

Demyelinating diseases, especially MS and optic neuritis (inflammation of the optic nerve),
are detectable with MRI scans. MRIs can show demyelination plaques in the brain and nerves,
especially those caused by MS. Your doctor may be able to locate plaques or lesions affecting
your nervous system. Then, treatment can be directed specifically at the source of
demyelination in your body.

A closer look: Multiple sclerosis MRI images of the brain

A note on statins

The central nervous system (CNS) is able to produce its own cholesterol. Current studies
show that if you take statins to reduce the cholesterol in your body, they are not likely to
affect your CNS cholesterol. Many studies have also found that statin treatment may protect
against Alzheimers Disease (AD) in patients who have not already experienced cognitive
impairment and are still relatively young. Researchers have found that statins may slow the
rate of cognitive decline and delay the onset of AD. Research continues, and we dont have a
definite answer yet. Some studies show that statins do not affect the CNS or remyelination,
and still others say they do.

Currently, most of the evidence does not show statin therapy to be harmful to remyelination
within the CNS. Still, the effects of statins on cognitive function remain controversial at this
time.

A D V E RTI S E M E N T

VACCINES

Vaccines and demyelination

Activating the immune system with a vaccine can trigger an autoimmune reaction. This tends
to occur only in a few individuals with hypersensitive immune systems. Some children and
adults experience acute demyelinating syndromes after exposure to certain vaccines, such
as those for influenza or HPV. But there have only been 77 documented cases since 1979.

TAKEAWAY

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The takeaway
Demyelinating diseases can seem painful and unmanageable at first. However, living with MS
and other common demyelinating disease does not have to be a terrible experience. There is
promising new research about the causes of demyelination and how to treat the biological
sources of myelin deterioration. Treatments are also being improved for the management of
pain caused by demyelination.

Demyelinating diseases may not be curable. However, talking to your doctor about
medications and other treatments may help you learn more about your condition. The more
you know, the more you can address the symptoms by changing your lifestyle to confront the
pain. When you can keep the symptoms of demyelination in check, you can feel peace of
mind knowing how to control it.

Article Resources

Medically Reviewed by Deborah Weatherspoon, PhD, RN,

CRNA on 02 mai 2017 Written by The Healthline Editorial
Team
A D V E RTI S E M E N T

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