A Vanderbilt University Medical Center-led research team has shown that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can detect changes in resting-state spinal cord function in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Vanderbilt investigators have discovered that functional MRI detects neural activity in both gray and white matter in the brain, suggesting new ways to investigate diseases such as Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis.

Vanderbilt researchers show that two factors promote the repair of myelin, the nerve cell covering that deteriorates in diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that profound defects exist in the integrity of structural RNA molecules in patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis.

Death of oligodendrocytes, the cells that make myelin, appears to be an early event in the development of multiple sclerosis.

Certain MRI metrics can be used to assess myelin loss in multiple sclerosis, which is important for planning and monitoring therapy.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Multiple Sclerosis Center has been named a Comprehensive Care Center by the National MS Society.