Overview

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic debilitating demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. It is caused by an autoimmune attack resulting in the progressive loss of the myelin sheath on neuronal axons. The resultant decrease in the speed of signal transduction leads to a loss of functionality that includes both cognitive and motor impairment depending on the location of the lesion. The progression of MS occurs due to episodes of increasing inflammation, which is proposed to be due to the release of antigens such as myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein, myelin basic protein, and proteolipid protein, causing an autoimmune response. This sets off a cascade of signaling molecules that result in T-cells, B-cells, and macrophages to cross the blood-brain barrier and attack myelin on neuronal axons leading to inflammation. Further release of antigens drives subsequent degeneration, causing increased inflammation. MS presents itself as a spectrum based on the degree of inflammation. A majority of patients experience early relapsing and remitting episodes of neuronal deterioration following a period of recovery. Some of these individuals may transition to a more linear progression of the disease, while about 15% of others begin with a progressive course on the onset of MS. The inflammatory response contributes to the loss of the grey matter and, as a result, current literature devotes itself to combatting the auto-inflammatory aspect of the disease. While there are several proposed causal links between the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and the HLA-DRB1*15:01 allele to the onset of MS - they may contribute to the degree of autoimmune attack and the resultant inflammation - they do not determine the onset of MS.

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DR. ALAIN L. FYMAT is a medical-physical scientist and an educator. He is the current President/ CEO and Institute Professor at the International Institute of Medicine & Science with a previous appointment as Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer and Professor at the Weil Institute of Critical Care Medicine, California, U.S.A. He was formerly Professor of Radiology, Radiological Sciences, Radiation Oncology, Critical Care Medicine, and Physics at several U.S. and European Universities. Earlier, he was Deputy Director (Western Region) of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (Office of Research Oversight). At the Loma Linda Veterans Affairs Medical Center, he was Scientific Director of Radiology, Director of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center and, for a time, Acting Chair of Radiology. Previously, he was Director of the Division of Biomedical and Biobehavioral Research at the University of California at Los Angeles/Drew University of Medicine and Science. He was also Scientific Advisor to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council, for its postdoctoral programs tenable at the California Institute of Technology and Member of the Advisory Group for Research & Development, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). He is Health Advisor to the American Heart & Stroke Association, Coachella Valley Division, California. He is a frequent Keynote Speaker and Organizing Committee member at several international scientific/medical conferences. He has lectured extensively in the U.S.A, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Africa. He has published in excess of 525 scholarly scientific publications and books. He is also Editor-in-Chief, Honorable Editor or Editor of numerous medical/scientific Journals to which he regularly contributes. He is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences and the European Union Academy of Sciences, a Board member of several institutions, and a reviewer for the prestigious UNESCO Newton Prize, United Kingdom National Commission for UNESCO.

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