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However, the myelin layer does not ensure a perfect regeneration of the nerve fiber. Some regenerated nerve fibers do not find the correct muscle fibers, and some damaged motor neurons of the peripheral nervous system die without regrowth. Damage to the myelin sheath and nerve fiber is often associated with increased functional insufficiency.
Myelin is formed by oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system and Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system.Therefore, the first stage of myelinogenesis is often defined as the differentiation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) or Schwann cell progenitors into their mature counterparts, [4] followed by myelin formation around axons.
The myelin sheath is not continuous but is segmented along the axon's length at gaps known as the nodes of Ranvier. In the peripheral nervous system the myelination of axons is carried out by Schwann cells. [1] Oligodendrocytes are found exclusively in the CNS, which comprises the brain and spinal cord.
The myelin sheath that surrounds and protects nerve cells is made by cells called oligodendrocytes. In a person with MS, these cells are lost, so damaged myelin sheaths cannot be repaired.
The neurilemma is underlain by the myelin sheath (also known as the medullary sheath). In the central nervous system, axons are myelinated by oligodendrocytes, thus lack neurilemma. The myelin sheaths of oligodendrocytes do not have neurilemma because excess cytoplasm is directed centrally toward the oligodendrocyte cell body.
The process creates a thinner myelin sheath than normal, but it helps to protect the axon from further damage, from overall degeneration, and proves to increase conductance once again. The processes underlying remyelination are under investigation in the hope of finding treatments for demyelinating diseases, such as multiple sclerosis.
Myelin basic protein (MBP) is a protein believed [weasel words] to be important in the process of myelination of nerves in the nervous system. The myelin sheath is a multi-layered membrane, unique to the nervous system, that functions as an insulator to greatly increase the velocity of axonal impulse conduction . [ 5 ]
The myelin sheath of long nerves was discovered and named by German pathological anatomist Rudolf Virchow [21] in 1854. [22] French pathologist and anatomist Louis-Antoine Ranvier later discovered the nodes, or gaps, in the myelin sheath that now bear his name.
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