Diseases
The most common and best known disease of the myelin sheaths is multiple sclerosis. Here, the human body forms antibodies against precisely these cells that form the myelin sheaths, the oligodendrocytes. These are thereby destroyed.
In multiple sclerosis, the myelin sheaths of the central nervous system are affected, i.e. those of the brain and spinal cord. Often, the first symptom is poor vision, since the medullary sheaths that transmit visual information are typically affected first. As the disease progresses, sensory disturbances and muscle weakness can also occur, since the correct transmission of both the incoming and the transmitted signals is disturbed. The disease progresses in relapses and requires urgent treatment by a physician.
