demyelinating diseases


demyelinating diseases

Diseases that feature loss of the myelin sheath of nerve fibres in the white matter of the central nervous system. The most important of the demyelinating diseases is MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. Others include acute demyelinating encephalomyelitis, which may follow measles or chickenpox, and neuromyelitis optica, in which both optic nerves are affected as well as the spinal cord.