110 cases of optic neuritis were prospectively studied. 62 (56%) developed multiple sclerosis, 13 were lost to survey. However, eight of these had recurrent episodes of optic neuritis. If recurrent episodes of optic neuritis are accorded the same significance as demyelination elsewhere in the CNS, then the incidence of multiple sclerosis in the series rose to 71%, similar to that predicted on a...

Two patients with clinically definite multiple sclerosis presented with acute hypothermia and on recovery were found to be chronically hypothermic. Thermoregulatory studies indicated a central, hypothalamic defect which is presumed to be due to a plaque of demyelination.

Noninvasive assessment of the progression of axon damage is important for evaluating disease progression and developing neuroprotective interventions in multiple sclerosis patients. We examined the cellular responses correlated with diffusion tensor imaging-derived axial (lambda(parallel)) and radial (lambda(perpendicular)) diffusivity values throughout acute (4 weeks) and chronic (12 weeks) st...

Complement is implicated in pathology in the human demyelinating disease multiple sclerosis and in animal models that mimic the demyelination seen in multiple sclerosis. However, the components of the complement system responsible for demyelination in vivo remain unidentified. In this study, we show that C6-deficient (C6-) PVG/c rats, unable to form the membrane attack complex (MAC), exhibit no...

Memory impairment is especially prominent within the spectrum of cognitive deficits in multiple sclerosis (MS), and a crucial role for hippocampal pathology may therefore be expected in this disease. This study is the first to systematically assess hippocampal demyelination in MS. Hippocampal tissue samples of 19 chronic MS cases and 7 controls with non-neurologic disease were stained immunohis...

Cortical lesions constitute an important part of multiple sclerosis pathology. Although inflammation appears to play a role in their formation, the mechanisms leading to demyelination and neurodegeneration are poorly understood. We aimed to identify some of these mechanisms by combining gene expression studies with neuropathological analysis. In our study, we showed that the combination of infl...

The permanent acquirement and clinical application of exponentially growing new scienti®c discoveries are demanding tasks for academic neurologists. To facilitate the overview of recent developments in basic and clinical sciences of in ̄ammatory demyelination we invited seven internationally recognized experts in multiple sclerosis (MS) to discuss their most recent works. These lectures allowed ...

Multiple sclerosis occurs as a consequence of central nervous system neuronal demyelination. Decades of research suggest that the primary suspects (e.g., viruses, genes, immune system) are associative rather than causative agents, but a surprisingly coherent relationship can be made between multiple sclerosis and fungal toxins. Specifically, certain pathogenic fungi sequester in non-neuronal ti...