Chemical engineers at the University of California Santa Barbara, United States, have achieved a new method of nanoscopic imaging that could lead to new experimental methods for the early detection and diagnosis – as well as possible treatments – for pathological tissues that are precursors to multiple sclerosis (MS) and similar diseases. The team studied the myelin sheath, which is the membrane surrounding nerves that are compromised in patients with multiple sclerosis. Jacob Israelachvili, one of the senior authors and a professor of chemical engineering and of materials, said, “Defects in the molecular or structural organization of myelin membranes lead to reduced transmission efficiency. This results in various sensory and motor disorders or disabilities, and neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis.” MS eventually leads to the complete disintegration of the myelin sheath, a process called demyelination. The team used the nanoscopic imaging to observe differences in the appearance, size, and sensitivity to pressure, of domains – the main constituents of myelin membranes – in the healthy and diseased monolayers. “The discovery and characterization of micron-sized domains that are different in healthy and diseased lipid assemblies have important implications for the way these membranes interact with each other,” said Israelachvili. “And this leads to new understanding of demyelination at the molecular level.”