Purdue University Assistant Professor Ji-Xin Cheng said learning exactly how the myelin sheath -- the fatty substance that insulates nerve fibers -- is degraded might lead to new treatments.

Purdue researchers focused on how myelin sheaths are degraded by a molecule called lysophosphatidylcholine, known as LPC. Although LPC doesn't cause multiple sclerosis, it's used extensively in research to study the deterioration of myelin, which insulates nerve fibers and enables them to properly conduct impulses in the spinal cord, brain and the body's peripheral nervous system.

The findings suggest LPC causes sheath degradation by allowing an influx of calcium ions into the myelin, activating enzymes that break down proteins and molecules in the myelin.

"It is possible that the same pathway causes myelin degradation in people suffering from multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries," Cheng said.

The study by Cheng, doctoral student Yan Fu, research associate Haifeng Wang, graduate teaching assistant Terry Huff and Associate Professor Riyi Shi is detailed online in the Journal of Neuroscience Research.

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Science/2007/06/27/calcium_ions_may_play_key_role_in_ms/8091/