Chronic disabilities in multiple sclerosis are believed to be due to neuron damage and degeneration, which follow remyelination failure. Due to the presence of numerous oligodendrocyte precursors inside demyelination plaques, one reason for demyelination failure could be the inability of oligodendrocyte precursor cells to turn into myelinating oligodendrocytes. In this study, we show that thyroid hormone enhances and accelerates remyelination in an experimental model of chronic demyelination, i.e., experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in congenic female Dark Agouti rats immunized with complete guinea pig spinal cord. Thyroid hormone, when administered during the acute phase of the disease, increases expression of platelet-derived growth factor ␣ receptor, restores normal levels of myelin basic protein mRNA and protein, and allows an early and morphologically competent reassembly of myelin sheaths. Moreover, thyroid hormone exerts a neuroprotective effect with respect to axonal pathology.neuroprotection ͉ multiple sclerosis ͉ oligodendrocyte precursor cells ͉ axonal pathology ͉ rat M ultiple sclerosis (MS) is a disorder of the central nervous system (CNS) that manifests as acute focal inflammatory demyelination with limited remyelination, usually culminating in chronic multifocal sclerotic plaques (1). Early axonal injury and loss followed by neuron distress (2) and death (3) occur in MS (4-6), accounting for brain and spinal cord atrophy. Irreversible axonal damage is an essential cause of nonremitting sensory, motor, and cognitive disabilities in MS (7). Although remyelination occurs in most experimental models of demyelination, this beneficial process is undoubtedly inadequate in MS. The reasons for this inadequacy are unknown, also because the oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), the cell population that is considered to be the most important source of remyelinating oligodendrocytes in the adult CNS (8-10), are present in early (fresh) demyelinating lesions in MS (11, 12).There are many possible speculative explanations for remyelination failure in MS (9, 10), including quantitatively inadequate recruitment and͞or differentiation of OPCs (13); axons not receptive to remyelination (14); and inappropriate support of growth factors by astrocytes and͞or other inflammatory cells (15), such as the extracellular microenvironment with regard to matrix proteins and adhesion molecules (16).Because the number of oligodendrocytes is greater than before demyelination in early MS, meaning that new oligodendrocytes are generated (17), another possibility is that OPCs are unable to turn into myelinating oligodendrocytes in chronic MS. Thus, extensive studies are under way to identify factors involved in OPC differentiation during remyelination. It is generally accepted that the process of remyelination represents a recapitulation of myelination during development, and so the key factors affecting the developmental maturation of OPCs into myelinating oligodendrocytes also should favor remyelination in the adult CNS. It ...