Myelin, living systems

We have already considered one application of living system utilization in medicine, where genetically engineered anaerobic bacterial spores seek ont cancerous tissue (see Example 6.15.1). In another application, multiple sclerosis (MS) can be helped by transplanting cells from one part of the body to another (Thieme, 2001a). MS is the resnlt of the destruction of myelin sheaths around nerves in the brain and spinal cord. This slows the conduction of impulses greatly (see Section 4.4.3). Schwann cells taken from the limbs of patients and injected into MS-affected areas can produce new myelin and reverse the most devastating aspects of the disease. 

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