Nervous System Problems/Diseases and multiple sclerosis

[Eshi]

Hi, my AP bio class is going over the nervous system, and brain structure and eventually will be discussing diseases that attack the nervous system. Does anyone have any good examples I could bring up? I also am looking for an answer as to why in multiple sclerosis the myelin sheaths are destroyed.

 

[Cincinnatus]

If I remember correctly, it isn't actually the myelin sheath that is destroyed in multiple sclerosis but instead it is the cells that produce it, the oligodendrocytes and schwann cells.

MS is an autoimmune disorder, meaning it is somehow (probably unknown) is caused by the body's own immune system recognizing these important glial cells as "non-self" and attacking them.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Hi, my AP bio class is going over the nervous system, and brain structure and eventually will be discussing diseases that attack the nervous system. Does anyone have any good examples I could bring up?

Parkinson's, Bell's Palsy, Trigeminal Neuralgia.

 

[jim mcnamara]

Problems related to metals or metal-metabolism disorders that eventually cause neurological problems:
Wilson's Disease (copper)
Dialysis dementia (aluminum)
Mercury-related dementias