MadSci Network: Neuroscience |
I am assuming that you are asking for drugs or chemicals which pass through the myelin sheath, without doing damage to it, and cause damage or degeneration to the underlying nerve. The short answer to your question is that I could not find any substance which does this. After being stumped, I asked a Neurologist collegue of mine, who also could not think of any such drug or chemical. There are many chemicals which can damage the myelin and thus affect nerve conduction. Likewise, there are several substances which can kill the neuron and leave the myelin intact, but these substances gain access to the neuron either at the cell body or at the cell terminals, not the myelin covered axon.
Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on Neuroscience.