Low serum sodium concentrations in blood are called hyponatremia, a prevalent clinical electrolyte disorder. In contrast to acute hyponatremia, chronic hyponatremia has been previously considered asymptomatic because the brain can successfully adapt to hyponatremia. If not treated, chronic hyponatremia can lead to complications such as fractures, falls, memory impairment, and other mental issues.
Treating the chronic condition is, however, quite tricky as it has been observed that overly rapid correction of hyponatremia can cause ODS. It is a neurological disorder where nerve transmission is affected due to damage in the myelin sheath surrounding the neurons and is associated with neurological morbidity and mortality. To ensure that hyponatremia is addressed without the complications associated with the treatment process, there is a need to understand the origin of ODS.
In a previous study, Professor Yoshihisa Sugimura from the Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, School of Medicine, Fujita Health University had found that microglia, resident immune cells found in the brain and spinal cord, could play a critical role in the pathogenesis of osmotic demyelination syndrome (ODS). Building on these findings, a team of researchers led by Prof. Sugimura, with Haruki Fujisawa as the first author, now explored the direct impact of low extracellular sodium concentrations (LS) and their rapid correction on microglia.
The study was published in Free Radical Biology and .