"There is a need for a paradigm shift in our thinking about the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis."

"The past decade has witnessed significant advances in the understanding of the pathophysiology of MS and in the development of novel disease-modifying agents (DMA). The use of DMA in the treatment of patients with MS has drastically increased not only in the United States but throughout the rest of the world. Currently, in the United States, most patients given a diagnosis of relapsing-remitting MS are commenced on a DMA. Controversy still exists regarding how early DMA should be commenced and whether all patients with relapsing-remitting MS should in fact be treated. To answer these questions, it is also important to know the natural history of the disease. TOC:Benign Multiple Sclerosis - a distinct clinical entity.- Heterogeneity of Multiple Sclerosis pathology.- Genetics of MS.- Mri as a surrogate marker for MS clinical trials.- Mechanisms of Axonal Injury in Experimental Demyelination .- The role of proteolytic mediators of demyelination and repair.- Genetic basis of spontaneous remyelination.- Experimental remyelination in toxic models of remyelination.- Antibody-induced remyelination.- Neuro-imaging of CNS remyelination in humans.- Hormonal influences in MS.- The role of uric acid in demyelination.- Neuromyelitis Optica - clinical syndrome and new autoantibody marker.- Subject index."

Benign Multiple Sclerosis: A Distinct Clinical Entity with Therapeutic Implications.- Pathological Heterogeneity of Idiopathic Central Nervous System Inflammatory Demyelinating Disorders.- Multiple Sclerosis Genetics.- Imaging of Remyelination and Neuronal Health.- Immunological Aspects of Axon Injury in Multiple Sclerosis.- The Multiple Sclerosis Degradome: Enzymatic Cascades in Development and Progression of Central Nervous System Inflammatory Disease.- Genetic Analysis of CNS Remyelination.- Remyelination in Experimental Models of Toxin-Induced Demyelination.- Remyelination-Promoting Human IgMs: Developing a Therapeutic Reagent for Demyelinating Disease.- Neuroimaging of Demyelination and Remyelination Models.- Hormonal Influences in Multiple Sclerosis.- Statins and Demyelination.- Role of Uric Acid in Multiple Sclerosis.- Neuromyelitis Optica: Clinical Syndrome and the NMO-IgG Autoantibody Marker.