The loss of myelin as a result of diseases such as multiple sclerosis causes serious nervous system disorders, where electrical impulses are not conducted with sufficient speed or stop in the middle of axons. This is what is meant by demyelination. However, sometimes this process can be accompanied by aspontaneous regenerative response in which new sheaths of myelin recoat the axons, a process called remyelination.
The fifth Esteve Foundation Discussion Group, which was held on 17th and 18th October 2011, at the Hostal La Gavina S’Agaró (Girona), discussed the biology and therapeutic possibilities of remyelination .The chairperson of the discussion sessions was one of the world’s leading experts in the study of myelin repair, Robin Franklin, Professor of Neurosciences and Director of the Cambridge Centre for Myelin Repair.
Also taking part in this Esteve Discussion Group, entitled Remyelination: from biology to therapy were the following five international experts:
Douglas Arnold
Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital
Quebec, Canada
Charles ffrench-Constant
The University of Edinburgh
Queen’s Medical Research Institute
Edinburgh, Scotland
Hans Lassman
Institute for Brain Research
University of Vienna
Wien, Austria
Catherine Lubetzki
Fédération des maladies du système nerveux
Paris, France
Tim Vartanian
Department of Neurology
Weill Cornell Medical College
New York, United States
