PATHOLOGY AND PATHOGENESIS OF DEMYELINATING DISEASES

Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the cen tral nervous system of putative autoimmune origin. In the present revi ew the hypothesis that autoimmunity against multiple different brain a ntigens can lead to T-cell mediated brain inflammation and that multip le different immunological mechanisms may be responsible for the destr uction of myelin is highlighted. The multitude of possible pathogeneti c mechanisms is reflected in multiple sclerosis patients by a broad sp ectrum of disease susceptibility genes and by a profound heterogeneity of pathology and immunopathogenesis of the lesions.