GM atrophy and disability
Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 10:13 am
Art posted an interesting study (http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/abstract/65/2/280) on the Boston Cure site finding that Grey Matter (GM) atrophy (axonal death) is the biggest factor in MS disibility. This raises an interesting question:
if axonal death is responsible for most of the disability in MS, then how do we explain the appearent reversal of disability in patients whose progression has been halted (such as with drugs - tovaxin, campath, etc.; or even during long remissions)? This recovery has so far been attributed to re-mylination (a known capability). But if disibility is mostly due to dead axons, and not de-mylination, then do we conclude that disibility reveral is due to re-growth of dead axons - not a known capability!
if axonal death is responsible for most of the disability in MS, then how do we explain the appearent reversal of disability in patients whose progression has been halted (such as with drugs - tovaxin, campath, etc.; or even during long remissions)? This recovery has so far been attributed to re-mylination (a known capability). But if disibility is mostly due to dead axons, and not de-mylination, then do we conclude that disibility reveral is due to re-growth of dead axons - not a known capability!