Multiple Sclerosis: Immune System Attacks Nerve Cells Directly
September 29th 2010 -
In multiple sclerosis (MS), immune cells attack the body’s nerve cells directly. These cells attack observed by The researchers from the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) in Berlin for the first time under a laser microscope. The results were published in the current issue of the journal “Immunity”.
So far, it was not clear how exactly caused the damage to the nerve cells in a MS. Frauke Zipp and team studied MS-diseased mice microscopically, see the the immune cells into action. They found that immune and nerve cells connect directly with each other. By the attack, there was a high calcium levels in nerve cells that acts like poison in the long term and damaging the cells. This relationship could be a new approach for future therapy, because increased calcium levels in nerve cells could make the reverse, the researchers hope.
People with MS suffer from various symptoms such as muscle weakness, numbness and vision problems. At its heart is a disease of the immune system to attack its own immune cells in the central nervous system.
Tags: calcium levels, immune system attacks nerve cells, MS diseased, Multiple Sclerosis, muscle weakness, numbness
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