Scientists at New York University School of Medicine say they've identified the molecular switch that controls production of myelin.

Myelin is a fatty protective coating surrounding nerve cells that ensures swift and efficient communication in the nervous system. The researchers say their findings may provide a new avenue for treating nervous system diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, which are associated with myelin damage.

A team led by Dr. James Salzer, professor of cell biology and neurology, identified the factor determining whether cells will be wrapped in thick layers of myelin.

The research team said it identified a gene called neuregulin as the myelin signal that directs Schwann cells to build elaborate sheaths of myelin around the axons of nerve cells.

Myelin forms the so-called white matter in the nervous system and constitutes 50 percent of the weight of the brain, and is an important component of the spinal cord and nerves in other parts of the body.

The study, supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, appears in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal Neuron.

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