Neuroprotection and glatiramer acetate: the possible role in the treatment of multiple sclerosis.

Abstract

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the most common inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS). It is believed to be an immune-mediated disorder in which the myelin sheath or the oligodendrocyte is targeted by the immune system in genetically susceptible people. Oligodendrocytes synthesize and maintain the axonal myelin sheath of up to 40 neighbouring nerve axons in the CNS. Compact myelin consists of a condensed membrane, spiralled around axons to form the insulating segmented sheath needed for saltatory axonal conduction: voltage-gated sodium channels cluster at the unmyelinated nodes of Ranvier, between myelin segments, from where the action potential is propagated and spreads down the myelinated nerve segment to trigger another action potential at the next node.