Axonal degeneration contributes to permanent neurological disability in inherited and acquired diseases of myelin. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been proposed as a major contributor to this axonal degeneration. It remains to be determined, however, if myelination, demyelination, or remyelination alter the size and distribution of axonal mitochondrial stationary sites or the rates of axonal mito...

Functional regeneration after axonal injury requires transected axons to regrow and reestablish connection with their original target tissue. The spontaneous regenerative mechanism known as axonal fusion provides a highly efficient means of achieving targeted reconnection, as a regrowing axon is able to recognize and fuse with its own detached axon segment, thereby rapidly reestablishing the or...

In multiple sclerosis, demyelination of the CNS axons is associated with axonal injury and degeneration, which is now accepted as the major cause of neurological disability in the disease. Although the kinetics and the extent of axonal damage have been described in detail, the mechanisms by which it occurs are as yet unclear; one suggestion is failure of remyelination. The goal of this study wa...

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a pathologically complex CNS disease: inflammation, demyelination, and neuroaxonal degeneration occur concurrently and may depend on one another. Current therapies are aimed at the immune-mediated, inflammatory destruction of myelin, whereas axonal degeneration is ongoing and not specifically targeted. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance spectroscopy can measure the...

BACKGROUND Currently available disease-modifying treatments acting by modifying the immune response are ineffective in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), which is caused by a widespread axonal degeneration. Mechanisms suspected to be involved in this widespread axonal degeneration are reduced axonal energy metabolism, axonal glutamate toxicity, and reduced cerebral blood flow. Fluoxetine migh...

Increased sensitivity to mechanical stimuli produced by transient cervical nerve root compression is dependent on the severity of applied load. In addition, trauma in the nervous system induces local inflammation, Wallerian degeneration, and a host of other degenerative processes leading to axonal dysfunction. Here, axonal degeneration and inflammation were assessed following transient dorsal r...

Axonal degeneration is a characteristic feature of neurodegenerative disease and nerve injury. Here, we characterize axonal degeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans neurons following laser-induced axotomy. We show that this process proceeds independently of the WLD(S) and Nmnat pathway and requires the axonal clearance machinery that includes the conserved transmembrane receptor CED-1/Draper, the...