Multiple sclerosis is an immune-mediated demyelinating disease of unknown etiology that presents with either a chronic-progressive or relapsing-remitting clinical course. Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus-induced demyelinating disease (TMEV-IDD) and relapsing-remitting experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (R-EAE) in the SJL/J mouse are both relevant murine CD4+ T cell-mediated demye...

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) caused by JC virus infection in oligodendrocytes, especially in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Movement disorders associated with PML are very rare. Here, we report a case of PML in an AIDS patient who presented with a cerebellar tremor, caused by lesions in ...

Autoimmune disease is accompanied by T-cell invasion of the CNS, a realm from which they are normally banned. But while we generally think of oligodendrocytes as the primary victims in demyelinating autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS), Nitsch et al. show this week that neurons themselves are under attack from T cells as well. The authors exposed mouse brain slices with intact c...

Enhanced immune cell trafficking into the central nervous system (CNS) and disruption of the blood brain barrier are pathophysiological hallmarks of neuroinflammatory disorders like multiple sclerosis (MS) and its animal model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). However, recent studies suggest that the coagulation and the contact-kinin system might also be involved in MS developme...

The concept of antibody mediated CNS disorders is relatively recent. The classical CNS paraneoplastic neurological syndromes are thought to be T cell mediated, and the onconeural antibodies merely biomarkers for the presence of the tumour. Thus it was thought that antibodies rarely, if ever, cause CNS disease. Over the past 10 years, identification of autoimmune forms of encephalitis with antib...

The expression of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors by neurons, microglia, and astrocytes suggests possibly diverse mechanisms by which natural nicotinic cholinergic signaling and exposure to nicotine could modulate immune responses within the CNS. In this study, we show that nicotine exposure significantly delays and attenuates inflammatory and autoimmune responses to myelin Ags in the mouse e...

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that results in motor and sensory deficits. Although MS and its animal model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), are thought to be T cell-mediated diseases, the mechanisms underlying the lesions in the CNS are not fully understood. We propose that a strong candidate as a central me...

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic progressive, demyelinating condition whose therapeutic needs are unmet, and whose pathoetiology is elusive. We report that transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 (TRPV1) expressed in a major sensory neuron subset, controls severity and progression of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in mice and likely in primary progressive MS. TRPV1-/- B6 c...

Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS) is an autoimmune polyneuropathy. There is ascending paralysis seen in this and the onset is rapid, many a times preceded by an infection. Hyporeflex is observed and if respiratory component is involved can lead to death. Both sensory and autonomic nerve involvement is seen [1]. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP’s) are the biggest family of extra cellular matrix degradi...

A reactive astrogliosis is a prominent feature of the response to injury in the central nervous system (CNS), and studies in both man and animals have provided a well-defined sequence of morphologic changes that accompany these events. However, the contribution of a reactive astrogliois to disease pathogenesis has until recently, remained poorly understood. Now, with the development of transgen...