Macrophages (brown) in a lesion that crosses from the white matter (WM)
into the cortex (CTX)/Grey Matter of the brain in MS
The leucocortical lesions of the grey matter cross the border with the white matter and are noted because on the grey matter side there a few white blood cells and on the white matter side there are lots of white blood cells. Are there different mechanisms for lesion formation in the white matter verses the grey matter. This is unlikely. On both sides the oligodendrocyte is the target and is associated with demylination (loss of myelin) from the nerve. This study suggests that the reason why white blood cells accumulate on the white matter side is simply because there is more myelin debris to eat and clear up. The important question is what is damaging the oligodendrocyte?
CoI. Dr Love (Amor) is part of Team G