Mitochondrial dysfunction as a cause of axonal degeneration in MS patients:"Researchers looking at actual human brain tissue found a discrepancy in gene expression of the mitochondria between people with MS and controls. The mitochondria are organelles in our cells that have their own genes (separate from what you inherit from both parents, the mitochondria come from only the mother). They control energy production in the cell, and dysfunction can result in the death of the cell."