Autoimmune and Demyelinating Diseases

The nerve cells that send information through the brain and spinal cord are like wires that send electrical messages. Like wires, nerve cells are wrapped in insulation. Supportive cells called glia wrap the nerve cells in a substance called myelin, which both protects the nerve and speeds up the transfer of information. In demyelinating diseases, these supportive cells die, often because the immune system has mistaken the glial cell for something dangerous. The most familiar example of demyelinating disease is multiple sclerosis, but there are others such as Devic’s disease, acute disseminated encephalomalacia (ADEM), and transverse myelitis. Learn more about this family of diseases here.