Other primary demyelinating diseases

[Oralee]

Disorders that cause demyelination and have no known cause are called primary demyelinating disorders. Demyelination is the destruction of the tissues that wrap around nerves, called the myelin sheath.

Sometimes primary demyelinating disorders develop after a viral infection or vaccination against a viral infection. A likely explanation is that the virus or another substance somehow triggers the immune system to attack the body’s own tissues (autoimmune reaction). The autoimmune reaction results in inflammation, which damages the myelin sheath and the nerve fiber under it.

Multiple sclerosis is the most common primary demyelinating disorder.