Human brains (and the brains of other vertebrates) are able to process information faster because of myelin, a fatty substance that forms a protective sheath over the axons of our nerve cells and ...

More than a century ago, Alois Alzheimer noted unusual changes in brain fats, which he described as "lipoid granules," along ...

The disruption of axons—the thread-like part of nerve cells that transmits electrical signals—is associated with Alzheimer's disease. One way axonal function may be hindered is through damage to the ...

Researchers report February 15 in the journal Cell that ancient viruses may be to thank for myelin—and, by extension, our large, complex brains. The team found that a retrovirus-derived genetic ...

Edited by: Karen Young Kreeger K.W. Wucherpfennig, J.L. Strominger, "Molecular mimicry in T cell-mediated autoimmunity: Viral peptides activate human T cell clones specific for myelin basic protein," ...

Ancient viruses have really gotten on our nerves, but in the best of ways. One particular retrovirus — embedded in the DNA of jawed vertebrates — helps turn on production of a protein needed to ...

The neurons of the brain are protected by an insulating layer called myelin. In certain diseases like multiple sclerosis, this protective layer is damaged and lost, leading to death of neurons and ...