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Member
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 970
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Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 970
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Gray Matter Under Attack In Multiple Sclerosis: Protein Could Provoke Immune Attack O
Interesting!
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0430065813.htm
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It is only a recent discovery that the immune system actually attacks the gray matter in the early stages, along with the myelin sheathing.
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In the course of their investigations, they identified Contactin-2 as a new autoantigen a molecular structure that belongs to the body but which provokes an immune response. This protein is found in the brain and spinal cord, and is present in both the myelin sheathing and in the neurons themselves which means it exists in the gray matter. "Contactin-2 triggers an immune response in which T-cells and antibodies turn against this molecule, reports Meinl. In some ways, this immune response is similar to those that occur in pathogen-induced inflammations.
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