Multiple Sclerosis & Research

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the Central Nervous System (CNS). Subjects 20-40 years old are affected in a relapsing-remitting, secondary progressive or primary progressive pattern. Although the clinical course of the disease is variable, it usually leads to progressive deterioration and severe disability. Both genetic and environmental factors have been implicated in the pathogenesis of MS. The precise cause remains largely unknown, but there is evidence of a myelin-antigen-specific, Th1-mediated immune process resulting in macrophage-mediated demyelination, axonal loss and gliosis.