Focus Shifts to Gray Matter in Search for the Cause of Multiple Sclerosis

          Previously, the most prevalent hypothesis suggested that Multiple Sclerosis (MS) originated in white matter. White matter consists of bundles of axons covered in myelin, a white insulating fatty layer. In patients with MS, they have difficulty with motor coordination and loss of senses due to the myelin degradation. Recently, studies have shown that MS may actually begin in the gray matter, which affects thinking and learning. Scientists at Rutgers University in Newark began analyzing proteins in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in newly diagnosed or patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). They found an uneven distribution of proteins which at least 75 percent affect gray matter, not myelin. This shows that issues are occurring in gray matter before myelin degradation. This is an opportunity for early diagnosis, especially through investigation the proteins involved early in MS.

          I found this article to be rather interesting due to the fact that MS has been around for some time and it affects more than 2.1 million people worldwide, but scientists are still not able to figure out the cause of MS. However, it's equally interesting that they've been able to narrow it down to two hypothesis: one suggesting MS begins in white matter and the other in gray matter. Through this article, I realized MS patients typically are not diagnosed until they display symptoms relating to myelin loss.

          I would really recommend this article, especially since we just discussed out SNBAL in regards to Multiple Sclerosis.


http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=focus-shifts-to-gray-matter-search-for-cause-multiple-sclerosis