A Simple sugar may promote myelin repair in multiple sclerosis: Study

Irvine, CA- Myelination plays an important role in cognitive development and in demyelinating diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS), where failure of re-myelination promotes permanent neuro-axonal damage. 

Researchers at new University of California have found in a new study that N-acetylglucosamine promotes myelin repair in mouse models and correlates with myelination levels in multiple sclerosis patients.It is a simple sugar found in human breast milk and sold as an over-the-counter dietary supplement in the United States.

The study has been published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

The study also demonstrates that in mice, delivering N-acetylglucosamine orally to lactating mothers drove primary myelination in their nursing offspring. N-acetylglucosamine is a simple sugar that is metabolically attached to proteins at the cell surface to control cellular function.

"We found that N-acetylglucosamine activates myelin stem cells to promote primary myelination and myelin repair," said Michael Demetriou, MD, PhD, FRCP(C), professor of neurology, microbiology and molecular genetics at UCI School of Medicine and leader of the study. "Our data raises the intriguing possibility that N-acetylglucosamine may be a simple therapy to promote myelin repair in multiple sclerosis patients". Formal human studies will be required to test this theory.