Scientists Develop New X-Ray Method For Mapping Myelin Sheaths

May 24, 2011

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen, including members from the Niels Bohr Institute have recently developed a new X-ray method that allows for more highly detailed images of brain cells. The new X-ray method is able to map out the myelin sheaths in nerve cells, helping scientists get a better understanding of condition such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease. The report on the new X-ray method has been published in the scientific journal, NeuroImage.

The myelin sheaths found in nerve cells act as the insulating material that allows the said cells to send out electric signals to and from the brain. The myelin sheaths ensure that communication between the neuronal axons remain stable and uninterrupted. Certain changes in the myelin sheaths are associated with a number of neurodegenerative disorders such as multiple sclerosisand Alzheimer’s disease. Such diseases are not yet fully understood by many scientists

To help scientists better understand the connection between the changes in the myelin sheath and on a number of neurodegenerative diseases, a new type of creating highly detailed images of the myelin sheath may be required. This has recently been made possible by a new X-ray method called SAXS-CT. This method makes use of two existing and well-known medical examination methods to come up with highly detailed images of the myelin sheaths.

“We have combined two well-known medical examination methods: SAXS (Small-Angle X-rayScattering) and CT-scanning (computed tomography scanning). Combined with a specially developed program for data processing, we have been able to examine the variations of the myelin sheaths in a rat brain all the way down to the molecular level without surgery,” says Torben Haugaard Jensen, PhD of the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen.

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