Myelin sheaths: Autism tied to flawed cell armor

[Guest guest]

This article touts only autism and ADHD....BUT would really include

Apraxia and other neurophysical problems as well. Myelin is made of

OMEGA 3 and if there is a deficit (which we've already noted in our

APRAXIC children based on the general improvements after supplementing

Omega 3 in the various fish oil or other omega supplements that we talk

about here daily) then messages to and from the brain and the muscles

don't work correctly.

Ped Med: Autism tied to flawed cell armor

By LIDIA WASOWICZ

UPI Senior Science Writer

http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20070202-043047-2685r

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- While some researchers are looking

inside the nerve-cell package in the brain for clues to autism,

others think it's all in the wrapping.

A novel model of human brain development and degeneration proposed

by scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles,

implicates chinks in the fatty armor that coats the brain's internal

wiring in such childhood developmental disorders as autism and

attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder.

>From a review of scanned and autopsied brain tissue, the

investigators said they unraveled the role of the insulation, called

myelin, in these conditions.

Laden with more cholesterol than any other brain component, the

sheet of fat encases the spindly nerve-cell extensions called axons,

permitting them to carry messages to their neighbors in the safety

and security of their shield.

The thicker and heavier the cells' coat, the faster and more

effective their communication, said team leader Dr.

Bartzokis, professor of neurology at the Geffen School of

Medicine and director of the UCLA Memory Disorders and Alzheimer's

Disease Clinic and the Clinical Core of the UCLA Alzheimer's Disease

Research Center.

The pioneering neuroscientist said he discovered that myelin

production continues unabated throughout the first four decades of

life before peaking and plummeting at age 45.

His latest research portrays the protective shield as the neural

system's Achilles' heel, vulnerable to a host of environmental

assaults.

" Myelination, a process uniquely elaborated in humans, arguably is

the most important and most vulnerable process of brain development

as we mature and age, " Bartzokis said in an interview. " The effect

of all toxins should be examined in this context. At present, this

is rarely done. "

Without adequate insulation, cells won't connect properly, he said.

He came to that conclusion after conducting a series of experiments

that showed a breakdown in the sheath can expose the naked wiring

beneath and open the gates to an array of neurological and

behavioral problems.

Bartzokis's hypothesis holds that humans " myelinate " different

circuits at various points in life, which could explain the sizeable

differences between brain diseases of the young and old.

An early disruption of the process, for instance, may throw for a

loop the development of the basic circuits that govern language and

social communication, two key impairments in autism, Bartzokis said.

A glitch during the early school years could hamper the ability to

process information efficiently and effectively, leading to deficits

in attention that characterize ADHD, he said.

Later in life, the result of a malfunction could be Alzheimer's

disease, Bartzokis conjectured.

To Bartzokis, the human brain is akin to the high-speed Internet.

" The speed, quality and bandwidth of the connections determine the

brain's ability to process information, and all these depend in

large part on the insulation that coats the brain's connecting

wires, " he said.

The findings may explain why developmental disorders leave no

calling card in the brain, scientists said.

" There's no dead anything on autopsy, " Bartzokis said. " Those brain

connections just never developed normally. "

The good news about myelination comes in feminine packages:

Bartzokis's studies show female brains make better myelin, which

could explain why boys are at much greater risk for autism, ADHD and

other similarly routed problems.

On a similar front, U.S. and French investigators conducting mouse

experiments found the males had 20 percent to 40 percent more of the

cells that form myelin in the brain and spinal cord than did the

females.

The females produced up to twice as many of the cells, but twice as

many of them died, making for a much higher turnover rate in this

group, the investigators reported in the Journal of Neuroscience.

The discovery of the unexpectedly large gender gap may help clear up

some of the mystery of how male-female differences are generated in

the brain, which in turn may provide critical clues into why

disorders such as autism, ADHD, depression and multiple sclerosis

are so uneven-handed in their distribution between the sexes, the

authors said.

(Note: In this multi-part installment, based on dozens of reports,

conferences and interviews, Ped Med is keeping an eye on autism,

taking a backward glance at its history and surrounding

controversies, facing facts revealed by research and looking forward

to treatment enhancements and expansions. Wasowicz is the author of

the new book, " Suffer the Child: How the Healthcare System Is

Failing Our Future, " published by Capital Books.)

*

The material in this post is distributed without

profit to those who have expressed a prior interest

in receiving the included information for research

and educational purposes.For more information go to:

http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html

http://oregon.uoregon.edu/~csundt/documents.htm

If you wish to use copyrighted material from this

email for purposes that go beyond 'fair use', you

must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

[Guest guest]

Very interesting article! Thanks for posting it.

[ ] Myelin sheaths: Autism tied to flawed cell

armor

This article touts only autism and ADHD....BUT would really include

Apraxia and other neurophysical problems as well. Myelin is made of

OMEGA 3 and if there is a deficit (which we've already noted in our

APRAXIC children based on the general improvements after supplementing

Omega 3 in the various fish oil or other omega supplements that we talk

about here daily) then messages to and from the brain and the muscles

don't work correctly.

Ped Med: Autism tied to flawed cell armor

By LIDIA WASOWICZ

UPI Senior Science Writer

http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20070202-043047-2685r

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- While some researchers are looking

inside the nerve-cell package in the brain for clues to autism,

others think it's all in the wrapping.

A novel model of human brain development and degeneration proposed

by scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles,

implicates chinks in the fatty armor that coats the brain's internal

wiring in such childhood developmental disorders as autism and

attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder.

>From a review of scanned and autopsied brain tissue, the

investigators said they unraveled the role of the insulation, called

myelin, in these conditions.

Laden with more cholesterol than any other brain component, the

sheet of fat encases the spindly nerve-cell extensions called axons,

permitting them to carry messages to their neighbors in the safety

and security of their shield.

The thicker and heavier the cells' coat, the faster and more

effective their communication, said team leader Dr.

Bartzokis, professor of neurology at the Geffen School of

Medicine and director of the UCLA Memory Disorders and Alzheimer's

Disease Clinic and the Clinical Core of the UCLA Alzheimer's Disease

Research Center.

The pioneering neuroscientist said he discovered that myelin

production continues unabated throughout the first four decades of

life before peaking and plummeting at age 45.

His latest research portrays the protective shield as the neural

system's Achilles' heel, vulnerable to a host of environmental

assaults.

" Myelination, a process uniquely elaborated in humans, arguably is

the most important and most vulnerable process of brain development

as we mature and age, " Bartzokis said in an interview. " The effect

of all toxins should be examined in this context. At present, this

is rarely done. "

Without adequate insulation, cells won't connect properly, he said.

He came to that conclusion after conducting a series of experiments

that showed a breakdown in the sheath can expose the naked wiring

beneath and open the gates to an array of neurological and

behavioral problems.

Bartzokis's hypothesis holds that humans " myelinate " different

circuits at various points in life, which could explain the sizeable

differences between brain diseases of the young and old.

An early disruption of the process, for instance, may throw for a

loop the development of the basic circuits that govern language and

social communication, two key impairments in autism, Bartzokis said.

A glitch during the early school years could hamper the ability to

process information efficiently and effectively, leading to deficits

in attention that characterize ADHD, he said.

Later in life, the result of a malfunction could be Alzheimer's

disease, Bartzokis conjectured.

To Bartzokis, the human brain is akin to the high-speed Internet.

" The speed, quality and bandwidth of the connections determine the

brain's ability to process information, and all these depend in

large part on the insulation that coats the brain's connecting

wires, " he said.

The findings may explain why developmental disorders leave no

calling card in the brain, scientists said.

" There's no dead anything on autopsy, " Bartzokis said. " Those brain

connections just never developed normally. "

The good news about myelination comes in feminine packages:

Bartzokis's studies show female brains make better myelin, which

could explain why boys are at much greater risk for autism, ADHD and

other similarly routed problems.

On a similar front, U.S. and French investigators conducting mouse

experiments found the males had 20 percent to 40 percent more of the

cells that form myelin in the brain and spinal cord than did the

females.

The females produced up to twice as many of the cells, but twice as

many of them died, making for a much higher turnover rate in this

group, the investigators reported in the Journal of Neuroscience.

The discovery of the unexpectedly large gender gap may help clear up

some of the mystery of how male-female differences are generated in

the brain, which in turn may provide critical clues into why

disorders such as autism, ADHD, depression and multiple sclerosis

are so uneven-handed in their distribution between the sexes, the

authors said.

(Note: In this multi-part installment, based on dozens of reports,

conferences and interviews, Ped Med is keeping an eye on autism,

taking a backward glance at its history and surrounding

controversies, facing facts revealed by research and looking forward

to treatment enhancements and expansions. Wasowicz is the author of

the new book, " Suffer the Child: How the Healthcare System Is

Failing Our Future, " published by Capital Books.)

*

The material in this post is distributed without

profit to those who have expressed a prior interest

in receiving the included information for research

and educational purposes.For more information go to:

http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html

http://oregon.uoregon.edu/~csundt/documents.htm

If you wish to use copyrighted material from this

email for purposes that go beyond 'fair use', you

must obtain permission from the copyright owner.