A light in a dark room for people with (MS), (CP) and Leukodystrophy Curing the incurable A light in a dark room for people with (MS), (CP) and Leukodystrophy

Multiple SClerosis (MS), also known as "disseminated sclerosis" or "encephalomyelitis disseminata", is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms. Disease onset usually occurs in young adults, and it is more common in women. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_sclerosis)

Cerebral palsy  (CP) is a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement. Cerebral refers to the cerebrum, which is the affected area of the brain, and palsy refers to disorder of movement. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_palsy) Spastic (Most common 90%) Ataxic Athetoid People with the spastic CP are hypertonic and have what is essentially a neuromuscular mobility impairment  stemming from an upper motor neuron lesion in the brain; the corticospinal tract or the motor cortex may be secondarily affected. The upper motor neuron lesion in the brain in turn impairs the ability of some nerve receptors in the spine to properly receive gamma amino butyric acid, leading to hypertonia in the muscles signaled by those damaged nerves. The limbs and body areas in which hypertonia manifests can be any or even all of them. Because of the damage to the cerebellum, which is essential for coordinating muscle movements and balance, patients with ataxic cerebral palsy experience problems in coordination, specifically in their arms, legs, and trunk. Ataxic cerebral palsy is known to decrease muscle tone.  (ADCP) is a movement disorder primarily associated with damage to the basal ganglia, in the form of lesions that occur during brain development due tobilirubin encephalopathy and hypoxic-ischemic brain injury.

Leukodystrophy refers to a group of disorders characterized by dysfunction of the white matter of the brain. The leukodystrophies are caused by imperfect growth or development of themyelin sheath, the fatty covering that acts as an insulator around nerve fibers. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leukodystrophy)

What do all these have in common? They are all disorders that affect the brain. There is also no known cure for any of them. The only real thing that can be done is treatment of the symptoms.

Why are you telling me this?

Well let me tell you why. Researchers at CWRU (Case Western Review University) School of Medicine have discovered a new technique that converts fibroblasts into oligodendrocytes, enabling “on demand” production of myelinating cells.

What do all those big words mean?

Well basically It means that CWRU has discovered a way to turn skin cells into brain cells. What type of skin cells? fibroblasts – an abundant structural cell present in the skin and most organs What type of brain cells? oligodendrocytes, the type of cell responsible for myelinating the neurons of the brain (http://scitechdaily.com/new-technique-converts-skin-cells-into-functional- brain-cells/)

Click here http://scitechdaily.com/new-technique-converts-skin-cells-into-functional- brain-cells/

Hopefully This can someday be used to treat and maybe cure human myelin disorders.