Multiple Sclerosis Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Multiple Sclerosis, including details on diagnosis, symptoms, treatment, prognosis.

The complex etiology of multiple sclerosis.

Winquist RJ, Kwong A, Ramachandran R, Jain J

Department of Pharmacology, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., 130 Waverly Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States. raymond_winquist@vrtx.com

Multiple sclerosis is a demyelinating disease which is presumed to be a consequence of infiltrating lymphocytes autoreactive to myelin proteins. This is substantiated by several lines of clinical evidence and supported by correlative studies in preclinical models. The development of new therapeutics for MS has been guided by this perspective; however, the pathogenesis of MS has proven to be quite complex as observations exist which question the role of autoreactive lymphocytes in the etiology of MS. In addition the current immunomodulatory therapeutics do not prevent most patients from progressing into more serious forms of the disease. The development of truly transformational therapeutics for MS will likely require a broad assault that expands beyond the concept of MS being an autoimmune disease.

Published 1 October 2007 in Biochem Pharmacol, 74(9): 1321-9.
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