January 1, 2016 (BRAIN)
While there have been many advances in the understanding behind the disease multiple sclerosis (MS), and while there have been many treatments that suppress relapses, there is still a major lack in success of treating primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). This is an extensive problem because most people with MS eventually develop PPMS which is associated with the greatest disability.
It has been long understood that MS was a “multi-focal and multi-phasic immune-mediated white inflammatory demyelinating disorder.” After recent studies, it is very clear now that demyelinating lesions may be just as extensive in both grey matter and white matter.
The overall conclusion of this study was that authors have discovered that MS cortical grey matter atrophy not only appears in more cortical regions than others. Also, in regions of “predilection,” grey matter can be linked in a “non-random way.” Understanding the possible explanations for this would be beneficial for the clinical aspect of MS because it could provide a way to develop a therapy to prevent atrophy in the brain and therefore, suppress progression of PPMS.