OBJECTIVES To investigate the nature and cause in eight black South African patients of a recurrent (multiphasic), remitting, and relapsing demyelinating disease of the CNS. METHODS The clinical and laboratory investigations and radiological manifestations of these patients were documented. RESULTS Each patient had two or more acute attacks of demyelinating disease affecting the CNS. The cl...

Multiple sclerosis is a demyelinating disorder of the central nervous system (CNS), in which an immune attack directed against myelin constituents causes myelin destruction and death of oligodendrocytes, the myelin-producing cells. Here, the efficacy of nerve growth factor (NGF), a growth factor for neurons and oligodendrocytes, in promoting myelin repair was evaluated using the demyelinating m...

In central nervous system (CNS) demyelinating disorders, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and related NMO-spectrum disorders (NMO-SD), a pathogenic role for antibodies is primarily projected into enhancing ongoing CNS inflammation by directly binding to target antigens within the CNS. This scenario is supported at least in part, by antibodies in conjunction with compl...

In a consecutive series of 30 patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) minor clinical evidence of CNS involvement was found in five. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed in 28 and revealed abnormalities consistent with demyelination in nine patients aged less than 50 years and abnormalities in five aged 50 years or over. Measurements of central mo...

Molecular mimicry is the process by which T cells activated in response to determinants on an infecting microorganism cross-react with self epitopes, leading to an autoimmune disease. Normally, infection of SJL/J mice with the BeAn strain of Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) results in a persistent CNS infection, leading to a chronic progressive, CD4(+) T cell-mediated demyelinati...

BACKGROUND The incidence and prevalence of CNS involvement in SLE remains unclear owing to conflicting results in the published studies. The aim of the study was to evaluate the incidence and prevalence of major definite CNS events in SLE patients. METHODS 370 SLE patients with no previous history of CNS involvement were prospectively evaluated in a tertiary hospital referral center for 3 yea...

Epidemiological studies show a strong association between exposure to air pollution – and particularly particulate matter (PM) -, increased prevalence of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) higher rates hospital admissions for MS relapses. Besides having immunomodulatory effects sustaining systemic oxidative-inflammatory response, PM may participate in pathogenesis by targeting also Central Nervous System ...

Infection of dendritic and glial cells with Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) induces various cytokines via Toll-like receptor- and melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5)-dependent pathways. However, the involvement and role of MDA5 in cytokine gene activation and the pathogenesis of TMEV-induced demyelinating disease are largely unknown. In this study, we demonstrate t...

Several studies have suggested a pathogenetic role of paraproteinaemias in PNS damage. Over the few last years, the presence of symptomatic or subclinical PNS lesions in CNS diseases like multiple sclerosis has been described. On the other hand, CNS demyelinating lesions and cervical atrophy have been reported in patients affected by chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CI...

Correspondence to: Professor David H Miller, NMR Research Unit, Department of Neuroinflammation, Institute of Neurology, University College London, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK; [email protected] _________________________ M ultiple sclerosis (MS) is a common central nervous system (CNS) disease characterised pathologically by the development of multifocal inflammatory demyelinating wh...