Research gives new insights into the role of inflammation in myelin repair

In MS, our immune system attacks myelin (the fatty substance around nerve fibres). This can cause areas of scarring and damage called lesions. So messages can’t get through, and you might experience relapses. We also know that ongoing inflammation in the brain can play a role in MS progression.

A new paper from our Cambridge Centre for Myelin Repair suggests that successful myelin repair in one area of the brain could help stop temporary inflammation in a connected area from becoming long-term. This is more evidence of the importance of finding treatments to promote the repair of damaged myelin in MS.

What did the researchers do?

Dr Omar de Faria Jr and colleagues at the Cambridge Centre for Myelin Repair wanted to understand how damage in one part of the brain might affect other areas.

Our brains are made up of grey matter and white matter. Grey matter is responsible for processing and interpreting information. White matter is made up of nerve fibres that allow different parts of our brain to communicate with each other. Myelin gives white matter its colour.

They created a small area of damage in the white matter of a rat’s brain. And looked at what happened in connected areas of the grey matter.

What did the researchers find?

They discovered myelin damage in the white matter caused changes in the grey matter. Including the activation of the brain’s immune cells, leading to inflammation.

We often think of inflammation as bad. But in this study, scientists found that this temporary inflammation was actually a helpful part of the myelin repair process.

After myelin in the white matter was repaired, the inflammation in the grey matter subsided. But when researchers blocked myelin repair, the inflammation didn’t resolve and instead became chronic.

Professor Alasdair Coles, Co-Director of the MS Society Cambridge Centre for Myelin Repair, said:

These findings suggest that therapies enhancing myelin regeneration could help slow the progression of a potentially wide range of brain disorders.

What does this mean for people with MS?

This study suggests that when myelin repair doesn’t work properly, it can cause ongoing inflammation. And we know this type of inflammation can play a role in long-term disability and progression in MS.

Caitlin Astbury, our Senior Research Communications Manager, said:

This early research from scientists at our Cambridge Centre for Myelin Repair shows that regenerating myelin could also help with chronic inflammation in the brain in MS. This suggests that finding treatments to repair myelin could be more beneficial than first thought – and research like this could lead to new and better ways to treat MS in the future.