Multiple sclerosis attacks the nervous system in ways we're still untangling. New research from UC Riverside offers a crucial piece of the puzzle: the cells that keep you steady are starving for energy.
When you walk, reach for something, or catch yourself from falling, your cerebellum — a walnut-sized region at the base of your brain — orchestrates the whole thing. Inside it live Purkinje cells, large neurons that coordinate smooth, precise movement. They're essentially the brain's choreographer.
In MS, these cells start to fail. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals why: their mitochondria — the cellular structures that generate energy — are breaking down.
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Start Your News DetoxThe Energy Crisis
MS is defined by two simultaneous problems. First, inflammation damages myelin, the insulating sheath around nerve fibers. Without it, electrical signals can't travel properly. Second, and less understood until now, the mitochondria inside damaged neurons lose their ability to produce energy.
Researchers led by Seema Tiwari-Woodruff examined brain tissue from MS patients and found something striking: Purkinje cells had lost a critical mitochondrial protein called COXIV. The cells were essentially running on empty.
"These neurons help coordinate smooth, precise movements — like dancing, throwing a ball, or even just walking," Tiwari-Woodruff explained. "When they start to die, people develop ataxia, a condition marked by poor coordination and unstable movement."
The team traced this damage using a mouse model of MS. Over time, the mice lost Purkinje cells at a steady rate, mirroring what happens in human patients. The energy crisis came first — the actual cell death followed later, as the disease progressed.
What This Changes
Understanding this mechanism opens a new therapeutic angle. If mitochondrial failure is driving neurodegeneration in MS, protecting mitochondrial health might slow or prevent the movement problems that make the disease so disabling.
The researchers are now investigating whether mitochondrial damage extends to other brain cell types in the cerebellum. Early intervention — boosting energy production in brain cells, supporting myelin repair, or dampening immune activity before damage accumulates — could eventually become part of MS treatment.
For the roughly 900,000 Americans living with MS, especially those struggling with balance and coordination, this research represents a tangible shift toward treatments that target the disease's underlying mechanisms rather than just its symptoms.
