Myelin loss is a normal part of aging, but certain proteins in the brain can cause myelin-producing cells to die. Diseases like multiple sclerosis can also cause myelin loss, as well as inflammation and hereditary conditions.
Loss of myelin is a normal feature of aging. While scientists aren’t exactly sure why this protective sheath breaks down with age, recent studies have indicated that certain proteins in the brain can cause myelin-producing cells to die. Aside from this natural contribution to myelin loss, some diseases, including multiple sclerosis, cause this condition and the deterioration of neural function associated with depleted myelin.
Although the complicated processes that cause aging are not well understood, most systems in the body experience loss of function and deterioration as a person ages. Brain function can deteriorate significantly with age, often due to a loss of myelin that normally coats neurons and allows electrical signals to travel rapidly through the neural network. Much of this loss can be attributed to a protein known as DR6. This messenger orders the cells that cover the myelin neurons to die without replicating. When the brain has fewer of these cells, it can’t keep up with the job of coating neurons with myelin, and many neural connections begin to fail.
Many patients may experience a loss of myelin due to demyelinating disease. There are a number of these diseases, including multiple sclerosis, which is the best known and most common. Multiple sclerosis patients lose myelin due to an improper immune response. In this disease, immune cells target and destroy both myelin and the cells that produce it. Patients with this disease may initially have mild symptoms that get progressively worse as more myelin is destroyed.
Inflammation in parts of the central nervous system can also cause a decrease in myelin. The optic nerves, spinal cord or brain can swell for a variety of reasons. When nerves swell, the myelin coating can be damaged. Unless the patient has an autoimmune disease that causes the body to attack or stop producing myelin, the loss of myelin caused by inflammation may be temporary.
There are also hereditary conditions that can cause loss of myelin. Adrenoleukodystrophy and its closely related syndrome, adrenomyeloneuropathy, are conditions that interfere with a person’s ability to break down certain types of fatty acids. These conditions are linked to a faulty gene on the X chromosome and affect males more often than females. The myelin loss caused by these diseases is severe and irreversible, although there are ways to manage these conditions through diet.
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