ETH Zurich researchers have developed a new method of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the early detection and better monitoring of multiple sclerosis (MS). The method maps the myelin sheaths ...

Put simply, the hydrogen atoms in myelin tissue move less freely than those in myelin water. That means they generate much briefer signals, which disappear again after a few microseconds.

Gaps between segments of myelin sheaths (a) are small enough to consider the entire myelin-coated axon as a cylinder (b) with the axon's radius as 𝑎, the entire cylinder's radius as 𝑏, and ...

The hydrogen bonds and Van der Waals forces between the myelin shell and axon core guarantee reliable transmission of neural action potential in myelinated axon. (b) ...

Improved MRI scans of the myelin sheaths in the brain should allow multiple sclerosis to be detected at an early stage. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurological disease that usually leads to ...