Source MS Society: Small but mighty, mitochondria provide the energy that busy nerve cells need to survive.
We spoke with mitochondria expert Dr Don Mahad, from the University of Edinburgh, about what makes them so special – and what goes wrong in MS.
Mitochondria and progressive MS
‘I’m interested in energy production and demand in the brain and spinal cord, and especially how this changes in progressive MS.’ It’s the mitochondria that generate the bulk of this energy.
‘Mitochondria are smaller than the size of a pinhead, yet play a critical role in keeping us healthy’ says Don. ‘The healthy brain makes up just 2% of your body but takes 20% of the energy. To meet this demand, mitochondria station themselves all along the nerve fibres.’ Read on.