Multiple sclerosis Review Gender differences Diagnosis Therapy

334 Vol. 1, No. 4,Multiple sclerosis cannot be cured but there are treatments both to slow down the course of the disease and to treat the symptoms. Current research activities in MS will eventually lead to new treatment strategies that might involve a combination of immunomodulation, remyelination and neuroprotection. 2004 WPMH GmbH. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. What is multiple sclerosis and how is it caused? Multiple sclerosis (MS) was first described by Charcot and Vulpian in 1866 [1]. MS is an inflammatory disease of the Central Nervous System (CNS). The inflammation causes pat-ches of damage called plaques or lesions that are predominantly located in the white matter of the CNS. At the site of an inflammatory lesion the myelin sheath gets lost in a process the inflammation has resolved. This process i