Bigger on the inside

Here's a phrase I never thought I'd say: Hurrah! Doctor Who is back!

The younger me would be baffled by the excitement, the older me is married to a huge fan.
I have, over time, become (excuse the pun) indoctrinated.

Anyway, it's back on our screens and it's pretty darn great. Astonishingly the world hasn't imploded after the casting of a female doctor and I ended the opening episode deciding that I really want to be Jodie Whittaker.

Obvious reasons: funny, clever, backchats toothy aliens
MS reasons: regeneration

The doctor is able to regenerate into a bright, shiny new version of herself. Brand new body, rejuvenated cells and a spectacular wardrobe.*

Ah, if only that were the case with MS.

As it stands, we know that our brains have a natural ability to repair and regenerate. Particularly important in the case of myelin - the protective stuff wrapped around our nerve fibres. The stuff that gets damaged during relapses.

This regeneration involves special myelin-making cells in the brain called oligodendrocytes. They, in turn, are made from a certain type of stem cells in our brains.

Nerve calls can signal for help when their myelin is damaged (a sort of neurological 999 call) and when the signal reaches the stem cells, they travel to the site of the damage, mature into myelin-making cells and - tadaaaa- repair the damage.

Unfortunately, this regeneration becomes less effective over time and doesn't work as well as it should in MS. So what we need is a way of looking what goes wrong and finding a way to fix it.

The MS Society is funding a research programme that aims to do this. But, as with most research, the results could be some way off.

Sadly, unlike the Doctor, we mere mortals don't have a blue box that will catapult us to the exact point in the future when the answers have been found and bring them back to the present.

In the meantime, we're going to have to simply continue with our own wobbly adventures through time and space. And perhaps order a round of sonic screwdrivers for the ride.

:: Bigger on the inside by Chris Horst


 * Although I do take issue with the 11th doctor's bow ties: you tried your very best to rehabilitate them, but they still bring to mind that Bullingdon Club photo.