University of Illinois College of Medicine Scientists Learn What Makes Nerve Cells So Strong

How do nerve cells -- which can each be up to three feet long in humans -- keep from rupturing or falling apart? Axons, the long, cable-like projections on neurons, are made stronger by a unique modification of the common molecular building block of the cell skeleton. The finding, which may help guide the search for treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, was reported in the April 10 issue of Neuron by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine.