Members of the WSU Department of Neurology wrote two chapters of a book recently published by Cambridge University Press. The book is the first to be dedicated specifically to Schwann cells in normal and diseased nerves.

Department of Neurology faculty members Robert P. Lisak, M.D.; Joyce A. Benjamins, Ph.D.; Michael E Shy, M.D.; John Kamholz, M.D., Ph.D.; and Jun Li, M.D., Ph.D., worked on the chapters. Dr. Lisak, WSU chair of neurology, is also a member of the Department of Immunology and Microbiology; Dr. Benjamins is also a member of the departments of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Immunology & Microbiology; and Drs. Shy and Kamholz are members of the Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics.

The book, "The Biology of Schwann Cells: Development, Differentiation and Immunomodulation," is edited by Paticia Armati, Ph.D., of the University of Sydney. Schwann cells are an important cell in the peripheral nerves and are responsible for making and maintaining myelin in the peripheral nerves, Dr. Lisak said.

Myelin acts in many ways like insulation in electrical circuits, ensuring that messages are sent between nerves. In addition, Schwann cells have other supportive functions in the peripheral nerves. Abnormalities of myelin and/or of the Schwann cells, lead to many diseases of the peripheral nerves and also influence the recovery from diseases involving the peripheral nerves.

These diseases include nerve trauma; inherited diseases including the many forms of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease; inflammatory/autoimmune diseases including many types of the Guillain-Barre Syndrome and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy; infectious diseases including leprosy; certain toxic neuropathies; and certain forms of diabetic neuropathy.

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