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Prerequisites for conduction in demyelinated fibers

Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Hospital, Boston; the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology; and the Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139.

Data are herein reviewed which show that there are structural differences between nodal and internodal membrane in normal myelinated fibers. It appears likely that in most normal myelinated fibers, ionic channel densities in the internodal axon membrane are lower than those at the nodes of Ranvier. Conduction through demyelinated fibers may require structural reorganization, for example, redistribution or production of new channels, in the internodal membrane. Impedance mismatch may also block conduction at sites of demyelination. Reduction in internode distance proximal to the site of demyelination provides one solution to the problem of impedance matching.

Dr. Waxman's address is Department of Neurology, Stanford Medical School, Veterans Administration Hospital, 3801 Miranda Ave. (127), Palo Alto, CA 94304.

This work was supported in part by grants from the U.S. National Multiple Sclerosis Society (RG-1133-A1), the National Institutes of Health (KO4-NS-00010, NS-12307), and the Whitaker Fund.

Accepted for publication May 8, 1978.