Multiple Sclerosis Develops in Different Region of the Brain

Researchers now believe that multiple sclerosis may originate in a different region of the brain than previously thought.

According to Steven Schutzer, a physician and scientist at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, he found out an important clue regarding information focused on MS origins of the brain.

Previous research has shown that health officials primarily focused on the brain's white matter, which contained several nerve fibers. This may stem from the fact that symptoms of the disease include muscle weakness and vision loss, which both occur when there is deterioration of a fatty substance known as the myelin. When patients symptoms worsen, white matter senses are activated via the brain.

Yet when researchers analyzed patients' cerebrospinal fluid through various technologies, they were able to further determine information via proteomics and high-resolution mass spectrometry.

"Proteins present in the clear liquid that bathes the central nervous system can be a window to physical changes that accompany neurological disease," Schutzer said, via Rutgers Today, "and the latest mass spectrometry techniques allow us to see them as never before."

For the study, he was able to compare cerebrospinal fluid of newly diagnosed MS patients to longer term patients, including fluid taken from people with no signs of neurological inflammation.

Findings showed that proteins discovered in a newly diagnosed MS patient displayed physiological disruptions similar to white matter of the brain via myelin damage. There were also disruptions in gray matter areas of the brain, regions that contains axons and dendrites and synapses via transfer signals between the nerves.

Researchers note that future studies could reveal more about cerebrospinal fluid identification markers and what they tell scientists about neurological ailments.

More information regarding the study can be found via the journal PLUS One.