Death receptors (DRs) are members of the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNF-R) superfamily that are characterised by the presence of a conserved intracellular death domain and are able to trigger a signalling pathway leading to apoptosis. Strong evidence suggests that DRs contribute to the pathology of tissue destructive diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS), the most common inflammatory...

Abstract Demyelinating diseases can be driven by CD4 T cells specific for self-antigen derived from myelin in the central nervous system (CNS). Mouse models utilizing peptide induction protocols may restrict breadth of cell specificity. Here, we compare mice induced with a fragment oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG), recombinant extracellular domain (ECD), and full-length MOG protein, which inc...

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is a rare and severe inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS), which constitutes up to 5% of pediatric aquired demyelinating diseases. The optic nerves and the spinal cord are the most affected sites. The discovery of an autoantibody called NMO-IgG, which targets aquaporin-4, the main water channel in the CNS, gave a new direction to understanding the ...

Rituximab, a monoclonal B-cell cytolytic antibody, has beneficial effects in patients with inflammatory demyelinating diseases. So far, little data exists on B-cell subset recovery after rituximab treatment in inflammatory demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). To elucidate whether rituximab promotes qualitative changes in the IgG memory B-cell repertoire we performed a sin...

Idiopathic transverse myelitis is a monophasic demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) and its recurrence is a rare entity. Existence of syringomyelia in the spinal cord in inflammatory CNS disease is not usually encountered. This case study describes a 45-year-old man who was admitted with features of a cervical demyelinating disease. The history of the patient indicated that...

Two members of the morbillivirus genus of the family Paramyxoviridae, canine distemper virus (CDV) and measles virus (MV), are well-known for their ability to cause a chronic demyelinating disease of the CNS in their natural hosts, dogs and humans, respectively. Both viruses have been studied for their potential involvement in the neuropathogenesis of the human demyelinating disease multiple sc...

Intracranial infection of Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) induces demyelination and a neurological disease in susceptible SJL/J (SJL) mice that resembles multiple sclerosis. While the virus is cleared from the central nervous system (CNS) of resistant C57BL/6 (B6) mice, it persists in SJL mice. To investigate the role of viral persistence and its accompanying immune responses in...

Demyelinating pseudotumor is a rare inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that has a similar clinical presentation and computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) imaging findings as brain tumors or abscesses. Unlike brain tumors, demyelinating pseudotumors respond well to steroid hormones. There are only a few reported cases of intracranial de...

The syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH) is a potential cause of hyponatremia of the central nervous system (CNS). Although SIADH has been reported to be associated with many other central nervous disorders, its association with neuromyelitis optica (NMO) or NMO spectrum disorders are rare. NMO is a demyelinating disorder characterized by optic neuritis and transvers...

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the CNS. Recent studies have demonstrated that significant axonal injury also occurs in MS patients and correlates with neurological dysfunction, but it is not known whether this neuronal damage is a primary disease process, or occurs only secondary to demyelination. In the current studies, neurotropic strains of mouse hepatiti...